Animal Life : Secrets of the Animal World Revealed

Soil supplements 48 The pressure, in pounds SELF-MEDICATION
per square inch, that can Macaws regularly travel considerable distances to gather
Red and green macaw be generated by a macaw’s bill. at favored clay licks and eat the soil. The soil may detoxify
toxins from some of the plants in the macaws’ diet,
In common with some other herbivores, and soil eating may therefore be viewed as a form of
red and green macaws exhibit geophagy, self-medication.
literally, soil eating. Large flocks of red
and green macaws (and other parrot
species) congregate on the eroded faces
of riverbanks and mud cliffs to socialize
and sometimes to nest in crevices, but
most commonly in order to eat the soil.

The macaw diet is composed largely
of fruits, seeds, berries, and nuts. Using
their keen eyesight to forage in the forest
canopy, groups of red and green macaws
locate food and dextrously pluck fruits
from the trees. Using their feet and sharp,
hooked bill they tear open the flesh so that
they can get at the hard seed or nut within.
The macaw’s bill can generate an
enormous biting force, making it able to
crack even the hardest nuts.

In order to avoid competition with other
forest herbivores, for example monkeys
like the saki, macaws eat underripe fruits
and plants that are chemically defended
and generally unpalatable, or even toxic
to other animals. It is possible that
macaws eat soil to supplement the
mineral content of their diet, but it has
also been shown that by electing to eat
the particular soil type found at clay
licks, the birds are able to neutralize
the toxins in their gut.

Ara chloropterus
a Up to 3 ft 3 in (1 m)
f Tropical forest in eastern Central America
and northeastern South America.

c Large red, blue, and green parrot with

a naked white face striped with small
red feathers.

d 465

Fruit and meat Seasonal food adapt their diets in response to HUMAN IMPACT
fluctuations in food availability associated
Kea Great bustard with seasonal agricultural practices and REINTRODUCTION
a habitat dominated by annual plants. In IN BRITAIN
Like all parrots, the kea eats fruits, nuts, Historically a bird of open grassland, the summer they consume more insects
and seeds, but unlike other parrots, it great bustard is well adapted to survive (particularly beetles and their larvae) and After an absence of almost 200 years,
has a taste for meat. Some dig into the in the modern agricultural landscape, also take small vertebrates, such as frogs the great bustard might once again become
nesting burrows of sooty shearwaters to particularly in areas of cereal growing. and mice; in spring, fall, and winter they a familiar bird in parts of Britain. A program
kill and eat their chicks. Others, living in However, its persecution by humans has are almost exclusively vegetarian, with of reintroduction using birds of Russian
the hills and mountains—sometimes reduced its population considerably. a very varied plant diet, including origin (genetically the most similar to
above the snow line—scavenge the Young bustards are almost entirely cereal crops. historical UK populations) was started and
carcasses of dead sheep. In the past, insectivorous, but as they age, the birds in 2007 a released bird laid eggs, although
keas were seen eating the fat from the include increasing amounts of vegetable Otis tarda unfortunately they did not hatch. Extensive
backs of live sheep, as a result of which material in their diet. They forage in open a Up to 31⁄2 ft (1.1 m) surveys determined that in the release
they were hunted almost to extinction. areas, meandering in loose flocks and f Scattered populations are found across the areas, insect numbers in the summer would
picking at selected food items. The birds grasslands of Europe and Asia. feed the growing chicks, but it may be
Nestor notabilis c Robust reddish brown and gray bird. Breeding males necessary to manage winter feeding areas
a 18 in (46 cm) grow moustachial whiskers 8 in (20 cm) long. alongside crops to ensure the birds’ survival
f Wooded and alpine areas of New Zealand’s over winter.
South Island. HEAVYWEIGHT COMPETITION
c Olive-green parrot with scarlet underwings. The world’s heaviest flying birds,
male great bustards congregate
at leks (communal display sites)
and compete for the attention
of females.

ADAPTABLE TOOL
The kea’s elongated bill is perfect for biting,
tearing, and lifting a variety of prey and objects,
even prying rubber parts from cars, a behavior that
has given it a reputation as a vandal.

HUNTING AND FEEDING 200 unfussy eater while searching for food. With excellent Shovel snout coatis eat nuts, fruit, carrion, eggs, and
night vision but poor distance vision, small animals, such as insects and other
Virginia opossum opossums are more likely to use touch and White-nosed coati invertebrates and small reptiles, which they
smell to locate food. The Virginia opossum sniff out with their excellent sense of smell
The nocturnal Virginia opossum is eats a huge variety of food, from fruits, A member of the racoon family, the white- and highly developed snout. The snout is
usually ground dwelling, but it is also an seeds, and plant material, to eggs, insects, nosed coati spends its days in a bustle of shovel shaped and long, protruding
accomplished climber. It has a prehensile and small vertebrates, including some gregarious activity as it searches, often in beyond the lower jaw. It is muscular and
tail and very sharp claws on all of its toes reptiles, amphibians, and other mammals. groups, for food. It forages for its food, flexible and can be pushed into crevices
except the large toe of the hind foot, which It is even able to prey on poisonous mostly on the ground and usually by or under bark in the search for food. coati
is opposable, like a thumb, and is therefore snakes, having a higher resistance to digging and snuffling through the leaf litter, teeth differ from those of most other
extremely useful in grasping tree branches snake venom than other mammals. although it is also a skilled climber. mammalian carnivores, in that the molars
are flattened for crushing and grinding,
Didelphis virginiana rather than for shearing flesh.
a 15–211⁄2 in (38–55 cm)
b Forest, woodland, and farmland in Nasua narica
Central America, the US, and southern a 21⁄2–41⁄4 ft (0.8–1.3 m)
states of Canada.
c Ratlike marsupial with silver-furred b Wooded areas of southeast Arizona, US, and Mexico,
face and naked, prehensile tail.
through Central America to Panama and northeast
Cleaning up Carrion Colombia.
Virginia opossums are extreme
generalists and will eat almost c Long-nosed, long-tailed, slender carnivore with
anything. They are also opportunists
and scavenge, taking advantage of a distinctive white muzzle and white face pattern.
carrion whenever they find it.
fond of fruiT
The white-nosed coati can climb to reach fruits
and other arboreal foods, using its long tail
to help it balance; however, this species is
primarily a ground forager.

Tireless forager HUMAN IMPAcT

Wild boar accidental
reintroduction
To obtain the high levels of protein they
need to survive, wild boars are generalist Three hundred years ago, wild boars in
omnivores, using their snouts to locate Britain had been hunted to extinction, but
and then dig out buried food. Their ability in the 1990s they were again found in the
to find food in a wide range of habitats wild. It is believed that some animals may
explains their global success. Ranging have escaped or been released from the
widely, and foraging from dawn to dusk, wild boar farms that were popular ventures
wild boars rest during the middle of the at the time. Significant numbers were then
day and night. Plants, especially fruits and found in many rural areas throughout
nuts, constitute 90 percent of their diet. southern and western England. While some
The remaining 10 percent has been view it as a welcome return, many farmers
known to include insects, eggs, small disagree, citing damage to crops and
vertebrates, carrion, and even refuse, harassment of their cattle.
their exact diet varying with the seasons.

Sus scrofa
a 3–31⁄2 ft (0.9–1.1 m)

b Woodland in Europe, North Africa, and Asia.

c Typically porcine with large head and compact body,

brown and black in color and sparsely bristled.

d 485

an advenTurouS palaTe
Young wild boars are even less particular about
what they eat than their parents, which increases
their chance of survival in an environment where
food availability fluctuates.

Huge appetite tongue to force the water out through 2,204 lb The amount of food needed
huge baleen sieves that hang from its
Blue whale upper jaws. The krill are trapped against to fill up a blue whale’s stomach.
the inner surface of the baleen sieves
Believed to be the largest animal ever to and are then swallowed by the whale. geTTing a mouTHful
have lived, the blue whale is a filter feeder Krill undertake a daily
that migrates to the southern oceans each Blue whales can be found in oceans
summer to feed mainly on krill (small all over the world, although the three migration between deep
shrimps), and also consume other primary populations are in the North water and the ocean
crustaceans, squids, and small fishes Atlantic, North Pacific, and the Southern
associated with krill swarms. During the Hemisphere. Typically living in groups surface. To reach them,
summer feeding season, a blue whale can of two or three animals, they mate and blue whales feed at
consume up to 4.4 tons (4 tonnes) of krill calve in tropical to temperate waters in the
every day. This allows the whales to lay winter months and feed in polar waters in depths of 330 ft (100 m)
down reserves of fat and oil, which will the summer. by day and close to the
provide energy during the rest of the year surface at night.
when food is less abundant. A feeding
whale opens its mouth, relaxes its throat, Balaenoptera musculus
and takes in a vast volume of water and a 79–89 ft (24–27 m)
associated food. It then closes its mouth, b May be found in all of the world’s oceans, although
tightens its throat, and uses its massive absolute numbers are small.
c Mottled bluish gray; more slender in appearance than
other whales.

occasional carnivore prey, particularly newborn deer in spring. cAse sTudy 201 omnivores
They have the well-developed canines
Brown bear of a typical carnivore, and extremely plant eaters and meat eaters
powerful jaws with which to kill prey
Although they are often perceived as and crush food. Their paws and strong A study of brown bears in North America revealed that those which feed predominantly on meat
fearsome carnivores, brown bears are forelimbs enable them to dig, and their and fish (mainly salmon), which are comparatively rich in nutrients, are significantly heavier than
actually omnivores, with a diet that is at sheer bulk means that they are able those whose diet consists mainly of plant material, which is relatively poor in nutrients: female
times composed largely of plant material. to defend carrion against predators plant-eating bears had an average weight of 209 lb (95 kg) compared to 474 lb (215 kg) for
Their diet varies with the season and such as wolves. female meat eaters. In addition, female meat-eating brown bears had larger litters, on average,
geographical location, but tends to include than plant eaters, and the population density of meat-eating bears tended to be higher. Factors
green vegetation, berries and fruits, roots Ursus arctos other than diet may also affect bear population density, however—for example, human
and tubers, insects, and carrion. When a 51⁄2–91⁄4 ft (1.7–2.8 m) activities, such as logging and recreational activities.
they are available, bears will catch fishes,
and they occasionally hunt mammalian b Upland forests and tundra regions in North America,

northern Europe, and Asia.

c Large blonde, brown, or black bear with a wide face

and prominent mid-shoulder hump.

d 413

berry time plant-eatinG meat-eatinG
Brown bears on the Alaskan tundra like bear, 209 lb (95 kG) bear, 474 lb (215 kG)
to eat bright red, carbohydrate-rich
bearberries (hence their name) when food sharinG
they appear in fall. Brown bear cubs remain with their mothers until
at least the second spring of their lives, and will
learn how to hunt, forage, and fish. This mother
bear is sharing the catch with her cub.

shoots and leaves Gone fishinG
Belying their fearsome reputation, Brown bears exhibit a range of fishing techniques,
brown bears actually consume from waiting and watching the water before pinning
significant amounts of plant material, down a passing fish, to simply diving in and chasing
such as plant shoots in spring and their prey. When fishes are plentiful, a bear will
fruits in fall. choose the younger, more nutrient-rich fishes,
sometimes only eating the most energy-rich parts,
and discarding the remainder.

hunting And feeding 202 Predation Detecting prey

All organisms need energy to survive, and in order to obtain energy, most Predators have evolved a range of senses appropriate
animals have to feed on living organisms, such as plants or other animals. to their prey, the environment in which they live, and
Predators are animals that have evolved to hunt, capture, and feed on their hunting strategy. In aquatic habitats, some
other living creatures. As their prey develops ways to avoid being caught, predatory species may simply wait for the water
predators have to develop skills and behaviors that allow them to currents to bring food to them. Active predators need
successfully find, catch, and kill their chosen food. to look for food and can increase their chances of
success by concentrating on areas where their prey is
Feeding strategies cannibalism likely to congregate. For diurnal (day) predators, vision
is likely to be the most important sense, and their eyes
Many predators specialize on one species of prey or a Cannibalism, where an animal eats members need to be forward facing to allow distance to be
few closely related species—the numbers of predators of its own species, is widespread. Many judged accurately. Nocturnal predators, such as owls,
and prey being an important factor in regulating both species practice cannibalism because of may have good hearing and eyesight. Subterranean
populations. When prey is abundant, the population factors such as overcrowding or food predators may rely exclusively on touch—cave-dwelling
of predators tends to increase. This may continue shortage. Female tiger sharks have two whip-spiders feel for their prey in total darkness using
until there is a shortage of prey, causing the numbers uteruses and in each, the largest of the long, slender front legs. Chemosensory organs that
of predators to fall. Large fluctuations in predator and developing embryos will eat any smaller detect airborne odors or waterborne chemicals enable
prey populations can occur due to factors such as embryos. Sexual cannibalism, observed in some predators to locate their prey at a distance.
disease and weather conditions. Some predators may praying mantids and some spiders, is a
take a number of species within the same size range, special case where males are eaten during Sharks have an incredible
while others attack anything suitable they encounter copulation. By eating young cubs, male sense of smell and can detect
in a particular type of habitat. lions taking over a pride bring the females certain molecules in the water
into heat so that they can mate and produce at concentrations of only
ratio their own litter. Sometimes cannibalism 1 part per 25 million.
Within an animal group occurs when individuals are injured or die,
there may be a range of as with the scavenging tadpoles shown here. predatory senses
feeding strategies—
amphibians mammals amphibians are mostly sight
omnivores predatory, while most Eye structure differs between animal
Key mammal species are groups. Most arthropods have compound
predators herbivores. While eyes made up of multiple light-gathering
herbivores many species are units, while vertebrates and cephalopods
entirely carnivorous have camera-like eyes that use a single
or herbivorous, there lense to focus light and form an image.
are some that are
omnivorous (use both hearing
feeding strategies). Hearing is the ability to detect sound
vibrations transmitted through air, water,
Speed high-speed predators or a solid medium. Hearing organs vary in
complexity, from simple structures to the
To avoid being eaten, an animal kph 50 100 150 200 highly complex ears of mammals. A barn
owl can locate prey through hearing alone.
has a limited number of options. peregrine falcon 80kph 112kph 185kph
It can avoid detection by being cheetah 69kph 109kph smell
camouflaged and still; it can protect lion air Smell is a chemoreceptive sense for
itself mechanically with spines coyote 74kph land detecting odors in air. Most mammals,
or armor, or chemically with a black mamba 20kph Water especially carnivores, such as foxes,
noxious odor or taste; or it can try sailfish have a well-developed sense of smell
shortfin mako shark for detecting prey. Animals give off
odors for communication purposes.
to outrun a predator. In this case, mph 50 100
touch
the need for speed has generated The top speed attainable by predators depends Mechanoreception is found in a wide
to a large degree on the medium in which they range of animals. It is highly developed
an “arms race” over time, where hunting animals and operate. Stooping peregrines, the fastest of all in spiders (such as this tarantula),
predators, minimize wind resistance by being which use sensitive vibration receptors
their quarry evolve increasingly better morphological, streamlined and are helped in acceleration by on their legs to detect the presence
gravity. The high density of water restricts the and movements of prey.
physiological, and behavioral traits. Often predator and speeds that can be achieved by aquatic predators.
temperature sensing
prey become very evenly matched and success The ability to visualize infrared radiation
has evolved in snakes such as boas,
or failure is often down to luck, surprise, or health. pit vipers (shown here), and pythons.
Temperature-sensing organs on the
cheetah head allow these species to find warm-
The cheetah is well blooded prey in complete darkness.
adapted to hunting. Its
lightweight skeleton, echolocation
large muscle mass, and Echolocation (biological sonar)
nonretractable claws give has evolved in most bats,
it good acceleration and a dolphins, porpoises, and
maximum speed of up to other toothed whales. Echoes
70 mph (113 kph) over received from high-frequency calls
short distances. are used to locate and identify prey.

Stealth silk traps 203 predation
Spiders have developed the
Many predators, whether they are active chasers
or ambushers that lie in wait, rely heavily on stealth ability to produce silk and
to be successful. Hunting of any kind expends huge use it to trap insects. In
amounts of energy, and failure may not only result in many species, the snare
hunger but also seriously reduce the survival chances takes the form of a
characteristic web, spun

across a gap in vegetation.

of the predator’s young. Since it is likely that its prey

has also evolved good vision, often with eyes located on the sides of the

head to give a wide, nonoverlapping field of view, a predator needs to be lures
Several snakes have
able to approach its target without being detected itself. Prey species may evolved lures to entice
prey closer. Often the
feed in groups and large numbers of eyes mean that some can always lure is wiggled around,
its color contrasting
keep watch, making life difficult for a predator. One adaptation that helps strongly with the rest
of the predator’s body.
both predators and prey conceal themselves is camouflage. Coloring can

allow an animal to blend in with the background and disruptive markings

can help break up the body outline, which makes prey difficult to see but

also helps predators get close enough to make a kill. To increase their

chances, predators often make use of vegetation cover and move as

noiselessly as possible, keeping low to the ground as they stalk.

stalking jaguar
Hunting in the dense rain forest of Central and
South America, the jaguar takes a wide range of
prey, including caimans, anaconda, peccaries, and
capybaras. It has a very powerful bite, allowing it
to crush skulls and shatter turtle shells.

opportunism

Many predators are opportunists. Rather
than targeting any particular species or
type of prey, they simply move around their
preferred habitat looking for suitable food.
Hedgehogs forage on the ground and
among leaf litter, where they find
earthworms, insects and their larvae,
slugs, and even small vertebrates.

LYING IN WAIT targeted, and reduces the risk of injury to individuals.
A pack of wolves attack a group of musk In African hunting dogs, the size of the pack determines
oxen, who will attempt to form a defensive the size of the prey. Small packs will select impalas and
circle with their horns facing outward. small antelopes, while larger packs are able to kill species
such as wildebeests. Cooperative hunting has been
Cooperative hunting studied in vertebrates such as chimpanzees, dogs, lions,
hyenas, orcas, porpoises, sharks, fishes, and birds.
In some species, cooperation enables members of a Among invertebrates, social insects such as army and
group to obtain more food than they would be able to driver ants are well known for this feeding strategy.
by hunting alone. Cooperative hunting is more likely
to arise if individuals are related to each other and is
an important element in the evolution of social groups.
Cooperative hunting has many benefits: it increases
foraging success, affords better protection from rivals
or enemies, allows larger, better-defended prey to be

Weapons venom
duct
Predators have evolved an array of weapons to seize and
kill prey. The most common weapons among vertebrates groove (or hollow TALONS
are teeth and claws. Mammalian carnivores have fang) down which Three forward-pointing
enlarged canine teeth for killing, and their carnassial venom flows talons and one
teeth mesh together to tear through flesh. The claws of teeth curve backward-pointing
carnivores are large and curved for catching and holding backward talon ensure that this
prey. Fish-eating species typically have a large number red-backed hawk gets
of sharp, pointed teeth for securing slippery prey. Birds venom a firm grip on its prey.
that dive for fishes have sharp, pointed bills with gland
backward-facing serrations for gripping. Birds of prey CLAWS
have large talons for holding prey and strong, hooked SNAKE SKULL Scorpions combine claw
bills for tearing it apart. Invertebrates have a great strength and venom to
variety of weapons, including venomous stingers. subdue and kill prey.
Although this fat-tailed
temporal lower jaw scorpion has relatively
muscle (mandible) slender claws, its potent
venom allows it to easily
lower carnassial CONTRASTING SKULLS overcome a small reptile.
canine tooth The hyena has a massive skull with relatively short
jaws, giving it a powerful grip. In most mammalian
masseter carnivores, the carnassial teeth are sharp, shearing
muscle flesh before it is swallowed. In contrast, a snake’s
skull is delicate, and the loosely articulated, flexible
HYENA SKULL jaws, open very wide. In vipers, killing is done using
toxic venom injected into the prey by two fangs.

Eating prey 205 PREDATION

Prey may be eaten in a number of ways depending
on the predator. With very large predators consuming
large numbers of small prey, such as baleen whales
feeding on krill, there is no need for preprocessing and
the food is simply swallowed. In contrast, snakes are
adapted to eating prey as large as themselves. Since
they cannot chew it, it is swallowed whole and digested.
Most predators cut their food into pieces in order to eat
the most nutritious parts. In other animals, such as
starfish, digestion takes place outside the body.

DIGESTING FIRST
The mouthparts of many
flies are adapted for
sponging and licking.
The house fly cannot
eat solid food so has to
liquefy it before it can be
consumed. To do this it
regurgitates part of its
previous meal, as well
as salivary enzymes,
before feeding.

Killing techniques BEFORE DEATH
An assassin bug picks a
Predators kill in various ways depending on the size and nature of weak spot in its prey’s
exoskeleton, such as the
each species. Dismemberment, strangulation, drowning, impaling, and soft, flexible membranes
between plates of cuticle.
poisoning are the main methods. Large carnivores, such as tigers, kill their Its sharp mouthparts stab
through the surface,
prey as quickly as possible, avoiding personal injury or prey escape. Small injecting toxic, protein-
dissolving enzymes. Once
prey is bitten on the back of the neck, breaking the spinal cord and liquefied, the body is
sucked up by the bug.
severing the blood vessels. Death is often
EATING WHOLE
instantaneous. Larger animals are CLAM EATERS Like all snakes, the
seized by the throat and held until Some species are not just eaten by one eyelash viper cannot
they die of asphyxiation. Toxic predator but by a whole range of predators, chew its food and
salivary secretions have evolved each using a different technique. Although swallows it whole.
in many animals, including they have tough, hinged shells and strong Once caught on the
snakes, spiders, jellyfish, muscles to keep them shut, bivalve back-curved teeth, the
and even some mollusks. mollusks are a favorite food of many prey is propelled slowly
animals, including small sharks, down the throat in a
walruses, squid, and many shorebirds. ratchetlike fashion.

The shore crab uses its strong claws PLAYING WITH FOOD
to crack and pry open bivalves. Young predators such as
cats that play with their
A moon snail drills a hole in the BIVALVE American oystercatchers probe prey before killing it are
prey’s shell, before injecting enzymes into mud and either pry or thought to be practicing
hammer shells open. their hunting and prey-
to dissolve the contents. handling techniques.
This polar bear is tossing
a piece of meat into the
air before consumption.

SAVE FOR LATER
The red-backed shrike
stores food it cannot eat
immediately. It makes a
larder by impaling items
on thorns or wedging
them in forked twigs. This
behavior allows the bird
to hoard prey when it is
abundant, and to handle
larger items such as
small lizards.

This common starfish pulls the shell Sea otters eat floating on their backs and
open and everts its stomach inside. often use rocks to bash open the shells.

HUNTING AND FEEDING 206 bell has Lethal sting form of jet propulsion, it is a formidable ANATOMY
cubelike Box jellyfish predator. It has 24 small eyes arranged in
shape four groups of six on each side of its body. STINGING CELLS
The box jellyfish uses the venom in its Most of these eyes are simple organs,
stinging tentacles not just for defensive responding only to dark and light, but one About 5,000 specialized stinging cells,
purposes but also for killing prey. It pair of eyes in each cluster has the or nematocysts, are ranged along each
belongs to the class Cubozoa, and capacity to form images and may guide tentacle. Each cell contains a filament
although cubozoans are not true jellyfish, the animal toward its victim. Its usual armed with barbs. When triggered by
they are closely related. The box jellyfish’s quarry, small fishes and crustaceans, are contact with its prey, the filaments are
stunned and paralyzed instantaneously released explosively. One of the fastest
transparent body makes it all but when they come into contact with the long cellular processes ever recorded
invisible to prey as it floats in the tentacles. As many as 15 tentacles, each in nature, this turns the filament
water. Capable of moving at armed with thousands of stinging cells, and barbs inside out with the
speeds of up to 4 knots trail from the corners of the body. The box same energy as that of a
(7.2 kph) using a jellyfish is among the world’s most dangerous small-caliber bullet.
venomous species and poses a significant
tentacles may reach threat to human swimmers and divers. Its filament discharged
10 ft (3 m) in length stings can pierce flesh, crustacean cuticle, shaft inverted
and even mollusk shell. Excruciatingly
each tentacle painful, they can cause heart failure, operculum (hinged lid)
has about 5,000
stinging cells although shock leading to operculum
drowning is the most
common cause of stylet
death in human
victims. filament

cell
nucleus

RESTING DISCHARGED

SPEARED SHRIMP venom has quickly
Speared and held fast killed prey before
by hundreds of stinging it damages box
cells, this shrimp was unable to jellyfish’s tentacles
escape before the box jellyfish’s
Chironex fleckeri venom took effect. The tentacle will
a 10in–93⁄4 ft (0.25–3 m) including tentacles draw the shrimp to the underside of the
f Ocean waters off northern Australia, Vietnam, body where the mouth will engulf it whole.
Papua New Guinea, and the Philippines.

c Translucent jellyfish with pale purplish blue tinge.

Camouflaged hunter green. Cuttlefish have excellent binocular Sepia apama
vision and can judge distance well. Fishes a Up to 5 ft (1.5 m)
Giant cuttlefish and crustaceans are snared by two long f Rocky ledges on reefs and among sea grass off the
tentacles covered in suction pads. Once southern coast of Australia, including Tasmania.
The giant cuttlefish, the world’s largest, brought to the mouth, the prey is bitten c Soft elongate body with an internal bone and skirtlike
stalks or ambushes its prey. Cuttlefish can and toxic saliva injected. It is then ripped fin. Eight arms and two much longer tentacles.
change their color and skin texture to apart by a sharp, parrotlike beak. d 342
match their background since their skin
Glue guns contains up to 200 pigment cells called DEADLY STRIKE
chromatophores per square millimeter. When prey is spotted, a giant cuttlefish turns
Velvet worm There are three types of chromatophores— toward it and, holding its arms together
yellow, red-orange, and brown-black— to guide it, launches its tentacles
This species of velvet worm emerges after and below these, reflecting cells called with deadly speed
dark to hunt the forest floor for crickets, iridophores provide shades of blue and and accuracy.
termites, worms, and insect larvae.
It uses its antennae to feel for prey, but has Giant cuttlefish
a pair of simple eyes and can aim its glue can wiggle their
guns at objects up to 12 in (30 cm) away. tentacles to
The mucuslike glue, which is produced by lure prey.
the large slime glands that run along the
length of its body, can make up a tenth of
the weight of the animal. It is squirted from
holes at the tip of a pair of modified legs
called the oral papilla and once expelled
hardens quickly. Once the prey is trapped,
the velvet worm bites it and injects it with
salivary enzymes. The velvet worm has
curved jaws which it uses to bite off
softened parts off the prey and suck
up dissolved fluids. Consuming a large
prey item may take all night.

Macroperipatus acacioi
a 41⁄2 in (12 cm)
f Rain forest in Brazil.
c Soft-bodied and wormlike with small surface warts
and numerous pairs of stumpy, unjointed legs.

Pinned down 207 PREDATION

Horned helmet shell it moves out of its hiding place to hunt for Cassis cornuta STALKING A SEA URCHIN
food. Once it has closed in on its prey, it a Up to 151⁄2 in (40 cm) >>01 The snail locates its prey by detecting its scent trail.
Also called the giant horned helmet shell raised its body and pins down its victim f Indian Ocean from East Africa to >>02 It raises its body by flexing its foot. >>03 The snail
or conch, this marine snail hunts and using its large muscular foot. Despite its Australia and Pacific Ocean east to Hawaii. moves over the urchin before pinning it down. >>04 It then
eats sea urchins. Males are smaller than size and weight, it is unharmed by the secretes mucus to dissolve a hole in the urchin’s shell.
females and have fewer, but larger and urchin’s sharp spines. c Knobbed shell with peach-colored Using a toothed radula, or “tongue,” it enlarges the hole
blunter knobs or horns. The front of the through which it can extract the urchin’s internal organs.
shell has an upturned groove called the aperture. Males are larger than females.
siphonal notch along which a siphon lies
and projects into the water. It is through
this siphon that the snail “tastes” the
water for the chemical scent trails left by
wandering sea urchins and other types of
echinoderms, their principal food. During
the day, the horned helmet shell lies buried
in shallow water with just the tips of its
horns exposed, but when darkness falls

Poison dart prey nearby, the snail extends its
proboscis, and when contact is
Cone shells made it fires a harpoon with
explosive speed into the body
These sea snails hunt marine worms, other of the prey. The victim remains
mollusks, and even fishes, paralyzing them attached so it can be drawn back
with the venom from a poison gland that is into the proboscis, which expands
injected by a harpoon-shaped dart. The to engulf it. Indigestible parts of
venom is very fast acting, causing almost the prey and the used harpoon
instant paralysis. Alerted by the smell of are later expelled.

PROBOSCIS AND HARPOON
The snail’s proboscis emerges from
the opening at the end of its shell.
Just behind its tip lies a hollow, barbed
harpoon that it uses to impale its prey.

Family Conidae

a Up to 10 in (25 cm)
f Warm tropical seas worldwide.
c Brightly colored, roughly conical shell

with an aperture running its full length.

spider hangs Ordgarius magnificus
from foliage a Legspan up to 1 in (2.5 cm)
f In eucalyptus trees and shrubby vegetation on the east
coast of Queensland and New South Wales, Australia.
c Pale spider with very broad yellow or pink-spotted
abdomen, and two distinctive dorsal bumps.

Deadly threads Casting a net LARGE EYES
The rufous net-casting spider is also known as the
Magnificent Bolas spider Rufous net-casting spider ogre-faced spider for the fact that two of its eyes
are very large and forward facing. It has excellent
This bolas spider is a specialist nocturnal This spider hides during the day and vision and relies entirely on sight to detect prey.
predator of moths, sheltering in leaves tied comes out after dark to catch nocturnal
together with silk during the day. Like all prey such as ants, crickets, beetles, and Deinopis subrufa
bolas spiders, it entices moths to their other spiders. It spins a small sheet of a Legspan up to 5 in (13 cm)
pale blue, elastic, fuzzy silk held in a silk f Wooded and garden habitats in southeast Australia
doom by producing an imitation of their framework and then holds the net open and Tasmania.
sexual pheromone. It is thought that with its first two pairs of legs. Any c Long, slender abdomen is light gray or pinkish brown
this chemical is contained in the passing insect is enveloped in the net. to dark brown. Slender sticklike legs.
sticky blobs of glue at the end of
the catching thread. The spider Flower pouncer These spiders hide in silken retreats spun
aims and throws its sticky lure between leaves, or sit in or beside flowers,
toward a passing moth and, White crab spider camouflaged by a resemblance to flower
if successful, pulls up the parts or buds. Like most crab spiders, this
thread, bites the prey, is an ambush predator. At night it can
and may eat it catch moths, but during the day catches
immediately or wrap flies and even honey bees that visit whitish
it in silk for later flowers such as daisies and jasmine. The
consumption. spider seizes the insect, bites it behind the
head, and holds it until it stops struggling.
sticky globule is
swung toward prey Thomisus spectabilis
a Legspan up to 1½ in (3.5 cm)
f Among vegetation and flowers in Australia.
c Whitish abdomen and some dark markings. Grayish
cephalothorax with pale banding on legs.

FISHING SPIDER
With its fangs sunk deep into its victim’s flesh, a
fishing spider begins to feed. As an adult, the leg
span of this species can reach 41⁄2 in (12 cm). It is
widespread in northern South America, where it
sits by pools in the rain forest, waiting for passing
prey, which it seizes with its front legs before
injecting a fast-acting toxin.



HUNTING AND FEEDING 210 Leaping for prey SEIZING PREY Family Salticidae
Jumping spiders can jump 50–60
Jumping spiders times their own body length. Their a Legspan up to 5⁄8 in (1.8 cm)
legs extend not by muscular f A wide range of habitats worldwide.
Jumping spiders do not make a web to action but by having fluid c Generally compact-bodied spider with flat-fronted
catch their food but stalk prey during the forced rapidly into
day and move within range before leaping them. head and four forward-facing eyes. Often colorful and
to seize it. They have excellent binocular brightly marked.
vision with the middle pair of front-facing
Silk pit eyes greatly enlarged. Not only is their
eyesight extremely acute, but, unlike other
Funnel-web weavers spiders, they can move the back of their
main eyes inside their head so that they
These spiders owe their common name can look from side to side without moving.
to the shape of their webs. They typically When hunting, these spiders attach a
make a flat, sheetlike structure with a safety thread to a fixed point.
funnel-shaped retreat in the middle or
at one side of the web. They spend the Decorated trap may prevent birds and large insects from
day deep inside their protective retreat, flying through the webs by accident, or
emerging after dark to hunt. Sitting in wait Decoy spider that sitting at the center of its web, legs
at the entrance of their funnel, the spider folded, the decoy spider is camouflaged
rushes out to grab any suitable prey that This decoy spider decorates its vertical from predators. It is also possible that the
walks across or flies onto the flat part of orb web with conspicuous patterns of silk, web debris advertises the success of
the web. After biting it and injecting it called stabilimenta, which incorporate the a female spider to potential mates.
with a fast-acting venom, the funnel-web remains of its prey, its own shed skins, and
weaver takes the prey back to the safety even plant and fungal material. Studies Cyclosa insulana
of the retreat to eat it. Some species, have shown that by decorating their webs a Legspan up to ¾ in (2 cm)
called house spiders, make their webs decoy spiders may attract or intercept f Forests and yards from the Mediterranean
inside houses and outbuildings, usually more prey, although the decorations to Southeast Asia and northern Australia.
in dark corners and basements. may have other functions. It has been c Drably-colored spider with a misshapen,
suggested that these obvious patterns knob-ended abdomen.
Family Agelenidae
a Legspan up to 3¼ in (8 cm)
f Among a wide range of vegetation or inside
buildings worldwide.
c Hairy bodies and long, hairy legs. Drab in color, but
abdomens may have dark bars, chevrons, or spots.

>>01 >>02 RAPID STRIKE
>>01 Using its acute vision and a specialized
location technique, the mantis calculates the
exact distance, speed, and direction required
to snatch its prey. >>02 The front legs are
fully extended before the tibiae are flexed
around the prey in a vicelike grip. >>03 The
mantis retracts its legs and brings its
prey up to its mouth. The strike has lasted
less than 100 milliseconds.

>>03

Climbing the Extending mouth ANATOMY 211 PREDATION
walls
Lesser emperor dragonfly SPECIALIZED MOUTHPARTS
Giant centipede nymph
The aquatic nymphs (or
These large centipedes are prone to As with all dragonflies, the nymphs of the naiads) of dragonflies are
drying out and typically forage away from lesser emperor dragonfly live in lakes and highly predatory and have
sunlight, after dark. Their prey comprises ponds among vegetation and bottom specialized mouthparts
insects, such as crickets and cockroaches, debris, where they hunt for prey which (mandibles) for catching prey.
and vertebrates such as birds, lizards, and they catch using a concertina-like lower The mouth is long, hinged,
mice. They mainly feed on the ground mouthparts (see panel, right). Their gills and prehensile, with a pair of
among leaf litter and under stones, but are located within the rectal chamber and, hooked palps, and folds back
are now known to be able to if required, water can be forced out at high on itself. It can be shot
climb up the walls of caves, speed for a jet-propelled escape from forward using muscular
where they prey on potential enemies. action and hydraulic pressure
roosting bats, which Anax parthenope in 25 milliseconds or less.
can be up to twice a 23⁄4 in (7 cm)
their own mass. Despite their considerable f Lakes and ponds in Europe and Asia. CALCULATED STRIKE
size, giant centipedes are extremely fast- c Greenish brown abdomen with broad blue bands at >>01 A passing fish has alerted this dragonfly nymph to its presence.
moving and agile and can move with base, and pale greenish brown thorax. The nymph watches it for a short distance. >>02 When ready, the
ease over rocks vertically and even upside nymph launches itself upward and extends the lower mouthpart forward
down. The first pair of legs has been >>01 from underneath the head. >>03 Impaled on either side
modified into stout, sharp claws that inject by the sharp hooks on the palps, the fish is brought to the mandibles.
powerful venom from poison glands. The
venom is usually injected near the head of SECURE GRIP >>02 >>03
their prey, where it works quickly, and A bat retuning from a
while the prey struggles, the centipede nocturnal foraging trip
wraps its other legs around it. has been plucked out of
the air at the entrance
Scolopendra gigantea of a cave. Giant
a Up to 14 in (35 cm) centipedes can hang
f Forest in Central and South America. from the ceiling or an
c Robust flattened bodies with reddish brown segments overhang, maintaining
each with a pair of yellowish legs. Head has a pair of a firm grip with at least
segmented antennae and strong mandibles. five pairs of legs.

Sudden ambush binocular vision. It gauges distance to its
prey by moving its head to measure the
Common praying mantis prey’s apparent movement relative to
its background. Known as binocular
Like all other mantids, the common praying triangulation, this technique is
mantis has a highly specialized predatory widespread among vertebrates
lifestyle. A skilled ambusher, it remains but much less common
motionless and relies on its cryptic green among invertebrates. There
or brown coloration to avoid being seen. It are many modifications
has a distinctive triangular head that is very of the mantis’s body
mobile and has a pair of large compound that make it a superb
eyes, which face forward to provide it true hunter. The first

muscular front segment of the thorax, which carries
femur the specialized front legs, is very long.
Together with the elongated upper
mantis’s tibia is segment of the front legs, this gives the HELD FAST
folded back along mantis a very broad reach. The front femur The prey is impaled and
its femur to hold is greatly enlarged to house the muscles held by the front legs,
prey fast before it that operate the tibia, and has rows of so there is no need for
is devoured sharp spines on its inner surface. The front venom, and a mantis
tibia is also spined and folds back like a eats its food alive.
jackknife to mesh with the spines on the Generally the whole
femur, making a formidable trap. The victim is eaten, leaving
middle and hind pair of legs are used for only fragments.
walking and holding onto vegetation. The
common praying mantis is mainly active
during the day and eats a wide range of
insects, spiders, and other arthropods.
When prey is caught and subdued, the
mantis uses its tough jaws to slice through
tissue and chitin with equal ease.

Mantis religiosa
a Up to 23⁄4 in (7 cm)
b In all kinds of vegetation in Europe; introduced
to North America.
c Elongate, green or brown insect with large,
spiny front legs and distinctive triangular head.

HUNTING AND FEEDING 212

Aquatic assassin mouthparts to stab it, usually in the neck, THROAT WOUND Family Belostomatidae
and inject highly toxic saliva, which This giant water bug nymph has successfully a Up to 6 in (15 cm)
Giant water bug nymphs paralyzes the victim. Similar in composition ambushed a frog by attacking it from below, b Freshwater streams and ponds worldwide, especially
to some snake venom, the toxin dissolves injecting toxic venom, and keeping clear of the Americas, southern Africa, and Southeast Asia.
Giant water bugs are fierce predators both the prey’s flesh so that the liquefied meal the amphibian’s powerful hind legs. c Streamlined body with strong grasping front legs.
as adults and as nymphs. Nymphs have can then be sucked up by the bug.
large bulging eyes and either lie in wait Although the larvae of aquatic insects form The saliva of giant water bug
for prey to pass close enough to lunge a large part of the diet of giant water bugs,
forward and grab it with their specially surprisingly, they will also readily attack nymphs is similar to the venom of
modified front legs, or hunt actively using crayfish, tadpoles, frogs, fishes, and even
their middle and hind legs to swim. Once small water birds, all prey that are much some snakes. It is extremely toxic
the prey is caught, the bug uses its sharp larger than themselves.
and paralyzes the bugs’ victims.

Open jaws Palpares immensus CAPTURED
a 2 in (5 cm) Once the toothed jaws of the antlion larva
Giant antlion larva b Sandy areas among long grass in southern Africa. have snapped shut, crushing the prey’s
c Fat-bodied with a slender neck and squarish head, body, there is no escape. It will quickly be
Giant antlion larvae bury themselves in which has very large jaws armed with sharp teeth. dragged under the surface and eaten.
coarse sand, with just the top of their
Surface predator heads and open jaws showing above the injected into the prey to paralyze it and
surface, while they wait for insects and dissolve its internal organs. The resulting
Common pondskater other prey to ambush. Sensitive hairs and soup is then sucked back up and eaten.
relatively good eyesight tell the antlion Some antlion larvae build special conical
These gregarious bugs are well adapted when to strike. Anchored deep in the sand, pits in loose sand. They then flick sand
for catching small insects trapped by the it can subdue large prey. The toothed, grains at passing insects to knock them
film at the surface of fresh water. The front sickle-shaped jaws are two hollow tubes down into the bottom of the pit where
legs are short and used to grasp prey as through which salivary enzymes can be they are seized and eaten.
the pondskater eats, while the middle
and hind legs are very long, and splay out
to support the insect on the water and
propel it across the surface at great speed.
Pondskaters are covered in dense,
water-repellent hairs, and the front legs
have ripple-sensitive hairs that enable
them to detect and locate the movement
of their prey.

Gerris lacustris
a 1⁄2 in (1.5 cm)
b On still or slow-moving water in Europe.
c Slender body, brownish above and silvery gray
beneath, with long middle and hind legs.

Sticky snare sensitive antennae 213 PREDATION

Fungus gnat larva large compound eye gives
accurate eyesight
Often called glow worms,
the larvae of this gnat live in Bee killer broad wings
a mucus tube supported by
a loose scaffolding of silken Asian giant hornet powerful mandibles
threads. From this structure
hang as many as 50 vertical Asian giant hornets hunt and forelegs no defense. However it
threads coated in small beadlets kill a wide range of insect has been discovered that
of a sticky, gluelike substance. prey, including other
To attract flying insects such as hornets. Able to cover Japanese populations
mosquitoes, midges, mayflies, relatively long distances,
caddisflies, and even beetles the hornet carries its prey back to its nest, of the Asian honey bee have evolved a
to their sticky snares, the larvae where it uses its strong jaws to butcher the
produce a soft blue-green victim. It is then fed to the developing unique thermal-execution technique to
glow from the rear ends of hornet larvae. However, the adults do
their bodies. When an insect not feed on what they catch, but are deal with such an attack. Hundreds of
becomes trapped in the glue, instead fed by their own larvae, which
the larva moves slowly along regurgitate a rich mixture of amino worker bees form a tight ball around the
one of the horizontal parts of the acids for them to drink. When Asian
web to the end of the thread giant hornets attack bee colonies, it is invaders, and the intense heat generated
and begins to reel the victim in. not the adult worker bees they carry off,
but the soft-bodied bee larvae. Just a by their wing muscles literally burns the
Arachnocampa tasmaniensis handful of hornets can decimate a bee
a Up to 11⁄4 in (3 cm) colony in a short time, an attack for which hornets to death (see p.313).
b Caves, overhangs, and deep gullies the introduced commercial honey bee has
GLOWING TRAP in Tasmania. WINGED RAIDER Vespa mandarina
The gnat larvae have to live in very This species can fly a Up to 2 in (5 cm)
sheltered locations as the slightest c Soft-bodied, pale, maggotlike larva. at more than 12 mph b Mostly upland areas in Japan, China, Korea, Taiwan,
gust of wind would tangle the sticky (20 kph). In addition India, and Nepal.
beadlets on the threads together, to powerful venom, it c Large-bodied hornet with broad orange head, dark
making the trap useless. also has strong jaws. thorax, and yellow and black banded abdomen.

Hairy trap FALSE FLOOR
The stem of the ant plant Hirtella physophora
Allomerus ant is covered by a secondary surface built entirely
by the hiding ants.
These ants have evolved a unique
mechanism for capturing large prey that SLOW DEATH
might otherwise escape them by jumping >>01 When large prey such as a grasshopper
or flying away. First, they trim away some walks on the surface of the ants’ trap, its legs
of the hairs of a host plant stem, leaving are grabbed from below, and it is then
pillars of hairs. These are used to support gradually stretched like a victim on a medieval
a spongy platform that they make using torture rack. >>02 Once immobilized, the
regurgitated material combined with the grasshopper is stung. >>03 The prey is then
trimmed hairs. The platform is disguised carried along to the ants’ home inside a leaf
as a hairy stem and made with many small pouch, where it will be cut up and eaten.
holes so that the ants can hide beneath.
The construction is reinforced by a species >>01 >>02 >>03
of sooty mold that is controlled by the ants.
Once the trap has been set, the ants hide
below, with their jaws open, ready to catch
any prey that passes along the stem.

Allomerus decemarticulatus
a 1⁄16 in (2 mm)
b Rain forest in South America.
c Yellowish orange, smooth-bodied ant.

Super-sized raider Path of destruction ON THE MOVE
Bigger soldier ants,
Marauder ants Driver ants which are armed with
large, curved and
In this species there is a great variation Also known as safari ants, these ants form toothed jaws, patrol
in size between different castes. The colonies that can comprise many millions the outside edges of
workers fall roughly into three sizes: very of individuals. They may stay in one place the perpetually moving
small workers, known as minor workers; for anything from a week to several column and are
major workers; and large ants known as months. When local food supplies start constantly on guard
supermajor workers, which may be several to diminish, the ants move off in a large for potential attackers.
column, consuming anything they
SUPER-SIZED ANT Pheidologeton affinis hundred times heavier than encounter. During this nomadic phase,
Dwarfed by the a Up to 1⁄2 in (1 cm) the smallest workers of the the workers carry their developing brood
supermajor worker, b Forest and grassland in Southeast Asia colony. This extreme range in their jaws. Although insects and other
swarms of minor c Shiny yellowish brown to brown head, thorax of worker sizes allows these invertebrates are their main prey, larger
workers aid their much and abdomen, and yellowish legs. ants to utilize a much larger animals such as vertebrates can be
larger counterpart. range of prey and to defend overwhelmed and if unable to escape,
themselves against attack. will be hacked to pieces and eaten.
In large numbers, marauder
ants can even attack the nests of green Dorylus species
turtles. Marauder ants go out on foraging a Up to 1 in (2.5 cm)
raids for prey to feed to their developing b Savanna and woodland in Africa and East Asia.
larvae but tend to have more permanent c Brown to black bodies with paler legs.
nest arrangements than other raiding ants.

214 attack from beneath shark’s underside is pale so that when full breach
its prey is below, the shark’s silhouette The sheer force of its attack has
White shark against the sky is minimized. carried this female white shark clear
of the water. Having spiraled through
The white shark, a formidable predator When hunting, white sharks are able to the air, she re-enters the water with
also known as the great white, typically maintain their body temperature, especially her prey still gripped in her mouth.
employs a lightning-fast strike from below that of their brain, and use a range of
to disable large prey. The blow can seriously senses—electroreception, scent, hearing, impact from below
incapacitate or even kill prey in an instant. and vision—to locate prey. They will often >>01 This shark has stalked and attacked
have an exploratory bite to test if an item of a seal from below, launching it out of the
Despite its size, the white shark is prey is suitable. Juveniles usually eat rays, water. >>02 Although the seal has avoided the
effectively camouflaged by countershading. other sharks, and squid, but adults hunt shark’s grasp, its body has taken the full force of
Its body is gray or bluish brown on top so seals, sea lions, dolphins, and some large the strike. >>03 The injured seal falls back into
that prey swimming near the surface find it fishes, such as tuna. Although this shark is the water. The shark may attack the seal
hard to see the shark when looking down a top predator, occasionally it will scavenge repeatedly until it is weak enough to be eaten.
into the water beneath them. Similarly, the carrion such as whale carcasses.

>>01 >>02 >>03

25 mph The serrated
edges used
speed reached by
white sharks when for slicing
they attack prey jaws up to 31⁄4 ft
from below.
(1 m) wide

Carcharodon carcharias rows of teeth
a Commonly up to 20 ft (6 m), but may be longer. constantly
b Found mainly in coastal waters where prey is
abundant. Worldwide in temperate waters. grow forward
c Robust, torpedo-shaped body. Head has a conical to replace
snout and small, dark eyes. Pectoral and first dorsal fins lost teeth
are large, and two tail lobes are similar in size.
jaws of death
humAn ImpAcT The large triangular teeth of the upper jaw
have serrations on both sides and are used
attacks on people for slicing through flesh. The teeth of the
lower jaw are much smaller and
The recent decline in white shark populations help secure prey.
reflects the fact that the losers in most shark–
human encounters are the sharks. As humans
spend more time in the sea, they inevitably
encroach on the habitats of sharks, so this
enforced interaction has also resulted in
increased numbers of shark attacks.
However, the prevalent perception that
sharks—especially the white shark—are
man-eaters is contradicted by the fact that
a decreasing proportion of shark attacks
has resulted in fatalities.

increasing survival rates
While the number of white shark attacks on
humans increased during the 20th century, the
proportion of fatalities dropped considerably,
probably due to improved medical help.

Fatalities
Survivors

DECADE 1900s NO DATA AVAILABLE
1910s
1920s
1930s
1940s
1950s
1960s
1970s
1980s
1990s

0 10 20 30 40 50 60
NUMBER OF ATTACKS

Electrical sensing have special sense organs, called the 215 PREDATION
ampullae of Lorenzini, capable of detecting
Scalloped hammerhead weak electrical fields emitted by other
shark animals. These organs form a system of
jelly-filled canals in the head and snout
Like other hammerheads, the scalloped connected to the outside via small pores. In
hammerhead shark’s most distinctive hammerhead sharks, the underside of the
feature is its broad, flat head. The most hammer is particularly well endowed with
likely explanation for this bizarre shape these organs, and the increase in area due
concerns the capture of its prey. All sharks to the shape of the head may help them
detect bottom-living prey more effectively.

Night hunting LOCATING PREY SENSE ORGANS
Sand tiger sharks are often solitary, but It is thought that sharks
Sand tiger sharks when food is abundant they can feed can detect electrical
together. Like all sharks, they have signals as low as 15-
Also known as the gray nurse shark or ragged- electroreceptive organs to locate prey. billionths of a volt from
toothed shark, this large, slow-moving species feeds the movement of prey.
mainly on fishes, skates, and rays as well as large Carcharias taurus
crustaceans and cephalopods. During the day, it a Up to 101⁄2 ft (3.2 m) Sphyrna lewini
typically hides in caves and reefs, sometimes b Typically in shallow sandy areas a Up to 133⁄4 ft (4.2 m)
swimming in small groups very close to the bottom. and reefs, almost worldwide. b Warm temperate to tropical coastal
At dusk it moves into the open to hunt for food. c Stout, grayish brown body with flattened waters worldwide.
head, conical snout and prominent teeth.
c Brownish gray above and pale below.

The hammer-shaped head has a wavy
or scalloped front edge.

Hidden angler Water cannon

Hairy frogfish Banded archerfish

Also known as the striated or striped frogfish, the Although the banded archerfish catches aquatic prey such as
hairy frogfish is a stealth predator that lives on the
seafloor hidden among rocks, weed, and coral. shrimps and worms, it is best known for the unique way it catches
Concealed by highly effective camouflage, it draws
prey toward it with a lure. Its coloration is very prey out of water. The fish uses its mouth to squirt a narrow,
variable, and its body is covered with long and
branching skin tufts that completely obscure the powerful jet of water to knock insects from the vegetation above
outline of the fish. The tubelike openings of the gills
are hidden just below the pectoral fins, and to make it. The head is narrow with the eyes close to the snout, giving it
their disguise even more effective they will hide
among urchins and sponges, and in coral crevices. binocular vision. When the fish spots potential prey, it sticks its

The hairy frogfish’s stalked lure is a modified dorsal spine snout out of the water and presses its tongue onto a groove that
that can be bent backward along the head when not being
used to attract prey. The lure can even regrow if it gets damaged runs along the roof of its mouth. By rapidly closing its gill covers,
or bitten off. Frogfishes do not always need to use their lure, since
they are so well camouflaged against the substrate that small a stream of water is forced along the groove and out through the
fishes will sometimes even mistake them for a place to shelter.
small aperture at the end. Adults are very accurate and can shoot

SWIFT SNATCH a number of times in quick
The speed of the frogfish’s gape-and-snatch
movement has been measured at an extraordinary succession to dislodge prey, Toxotes jaculatrix
1/6,000th second, making it among the fastest which is then swallowed,
known predatory movements of any vertebrate. sometimes before it reaches a Up to 151⁄2 in (40 cm)
the water. If prey is close to b Mainly in mangrove swamps of
Antennarius striatus the water, the archerfish
a Up to 10 in (25 cm) Southeast Asia, India, Australia, and the
b All subtropical oceans, to depths of 33–656 ft western Pacific.
(10–200 m).
c Variable coloration, often light yellow, orange, green, may jump out of the water c Silver-bodied and laterally compressed
gray, or brown with black stripes or elongate blotches. to catch it.
Eyes have prominent radiating lines. with dark vertical bands.

apparent
location of

insect

enlarged dorsal angle
spine has appearance of refraction
of weed

insect

“bait” at end REFRACTION
of stalk ERROR
As light passes from
archerfish air to water it bends
swims just or refracts. The
below surface archerfish is able
to compensate for
this refraction and
shoot at the true
location of its prey.

ANGLING FOR PREY BALLISTIC SHOT
Frogfishes sit absolutely An archerfish’s aim
motionless on the seabed, improves with age.
camouflaged against the Adults can spit a jet of
substrate. This keeps water more than 6½ ft
them hidden from (2 m). They can also
predators but also judge the size of the
accentuates the movement prey and therefore how
of the lure, which they much water is needed
twitch to attract prey.
to knock it down.

EASY MEAL
Also known as the copper shark due to its color
in sunlight, the bronze whaler shark can grow
to over 9¾ ft (3 m) in length. It feeds on other
sharks, squid, and bottom-living fishes but is often
attracted by large schools of fishes, such as
sardines on an annual run that takes place off the
east coast of South Africa between May and July.



HUNTING AND FEEDING 218 Concealed weapon of jaws (see panel, below) ensures that the
eel can secure its prey even if it only gets a
Mosaic moray eel partial grip on it. Other bony fishes typically
use suction to swallow prey; sudden
Hiding in crevices and under rocky ledges, expansion of the mouth cavity causes
these thick-skinned, mucus-covered eels water to rush in, taking the prey along with
typically lie in wait for something to pass it, but in moray eels, the head is relatively
close enough to be seized. They mainly narrow so it would be difficult to ingest
feed at night on fishes, crustaceans, and anything but small prey using this feeding
mollusks and move with a snakelike, technique.
sinuous motion powered by their long
dorsal and anal fins. They sometimes feed Enchelycore ramosa
during the day and have been observed a Up to 5 ft (1.5 m)
to stalk their prey over short distances. f On rocky reefs off southeast Australia, northern
The eel’s head has a characteristic long New Zealand, and the South Pacific.
snout with curved jaws, armed with many c Snakelike, scaleless, yellowish gray body with a
razor-sharp, needlelike teeth. A second set mosaic-like pattern.

ANATOMY

EXTRA JAWS

Moray eels have a second set of maxilla
(upper
jaws halfway down their throat main
jaw)
called the pharyngeal jaws. Prey
dentary
items are caught and held fast by (lower main jaw)
upper pharyngeal jaw
the sharp teeth on the primary lower pharyngeal jaw

jaws, but because it is difficult to upper pharyngeal
jaw brought forward
pull food in through the narrow lower pharyngeal jaw
brought forward
mouth using suction (see above), gill arch free of spine
another mechanism is needed.

Contraction of special muscles

brings the pharyngeal jaws into

play in a mechanism unique to

moray eels. These secondary jaws,

SCENTING PREY also bearing large, back-curved upper
Although their eyes are teeth, move forward rapidly from pharyngeal
prominent, moray eels have well behind the skull to take up a jaw muscle
relatively poor eyesight, and position inside the mouth. Once anchored to
rely instead on a good sense the prey is secured, other muscles
of smell and sensory pores on spine
the head to detect their prey.
contract, pulling the pharyngeal lower pharyngeal
jaws backward, and dragging the jaw muscle
prey down into the esophagus.
anchored to gill arch

Secret flashlight NOCTURNAL FEEDER
These nocturnal fish hide during
Stoplight loosejaw the day in dark crevices and under
submerged wood. They have
This fish’s common name comes from the poor eyesight but have a special
presence of red and green photophores electrolocating system to move
(light-producing organs) on the sides of its around in the darkness and find food.
head, which it uses to catch prey. The
lower jaw is very long and armed with Gnathonemus petersii
slender fangs that curve backward. a Up to 14 in (35 cm)
To seize prey, the jaw can be pushed f In muddy, slow-moving rivers in West
forward in front of the head, and once prey and Central Africa.
is snagged on the teeth, the jaw is c Dark fish with rectangular, flattened
retracted. There is no skin between the body ending in a slender, forked tail.
bones of the lower jaw, and the species
blue-green DEEP-SEA DEVIL can swallow prey almost as big as itself. Electric organs rear electrical receptor
light used to The stoplight loosejaw’s
attract prey striking appearance Malacosteus niger Elephantnose fish
remains hidden from a Up to 10 in (25 cm)
red light is invisible the crustaceans and f Deep areas of the Atlantic, Indian, and These fishes live in muddy and murky electrical front electrical receptor
to other fishes and fishes that it feeds on. Pacific Oceans. water and need a system other than generating or “schnauzenorgan”
helps to detect prey c Scaleless, with a large head and tapering black body. eyesight to locate and determine the
nature of nearby objects. They use a kind organ
RED EMISSION AND SENSITIVITY of radar by producing electrical discharges
from a special organ made up of modified
blue sensitivity of red sensitivity red emission of Most deep-sea species can see muscle cells near the tail. The discharges ELECTRIC ORGANS
most deep-sea of stoplight then generate a weak electrical field The scientific name meaning “thread jaw” refers
animals’ eyes stoplight loosejaw’s blue-green bioluminescence (light around the mucus-covered body of the to the fingerlike sensory organ on the bottom jaw,
loosejaw’s eyes light organ fish. Obstacles, prey, or other fishes that which is used to feel for worms, insects, and
1 generated by living organisms) but come into range of the electric field alter its crustaceans in the bottom sediment.
shape according to their own conductivity,
are not very sensitive to red light. and these changes are picked up by
electroreceptors all over the body. These
RELATIVE INTENSITY The stoplight loosejaw’s flashing receptor cells are particularly abundant on
the head and the strange-looking,
red photophore allows it to see its

prey close up while remaining downward-curved snout or schnauzenorgan,
which the fish also uses to probe the
invisible. This species is unusual bottom. The brain of these fishes is
enlarged to process the complex
among vertebrates in being able to information coming from the electro-
locating system, the ratio of brain to body
produce long-wavelength (far red) mass being close to that of primates.

bioluminescence.

0 500 600 700 800 WAVELENGTH (NM)
400

Fly catcher Plankton pickers leave one-third of their body length buried Gorgasia maculata 219 PREDATION
below the surface. The burrow is coated a Up to 28 in (70 cm)
Brown trout Garden eels on the inside by mucus secreted by a f Sandy shallows of the western Pacific Ocean, from
special gland in the eel’s tail. This the Maldives to the Solomon Islands and the Philippines.
Wild brown trout return from the sea to Garden eels have good eyesight and rely substance binds the sand grains together c Pale and slender-bodied, 3⁄8 in (1 cm) wide.
spawn in fresh water and while there eat mainly on this sense to catch zooplankton, and prevents the burrow from collapsing.
a wide range of insects, worms, mollusks, other invertebrates, and even small fishes Also known as the Indian spaghetti eel, the DECEPTIVE APPEARANCE
crustaceans, and even smaller fishes and that drift past in the current. They live in garden eel is extremely wary of predators, Garden eels live gregariously in colonies known
frogs. They feed from the bed of the colonies and typically remain in their and will retreat in an instant, sealing the as eel gardens (hence their name), where they
stream, and when certain insect species burrows in the sand. Even when feeding, entrance of the burrow with a plug of sway around like stalks of sea grass.
are hatching and rising to the surface, the they only emerge partially, and always mucus until the danger has passed.
trout gorge themselves. They often rise
out of the water to reach flying insects.
Because of their varied feeding habits,
anglers use lifelike models of a wide range
of insects for fly fishing, where they try to
mimic the appearance and behavior of the
trout’s natural food. Trout can be very
selective in their feeding, and fishermen
have to try to imitate what the trout are
currently eating.

Salmo trutta
a Up to 41⁄2 ft (1.4 m)
f Rivers and streams of Europe and Asia, and the
northeast Atlantic, but widely introduced elsewhere.

c Stocky body with olive green to silvery dorsal surface

covered with darkish spots.

POWERFUL LEAP Side swipe STREAMLINED FOR SPEED
Using its powerful tail to jump clear of the water a The characteristic “sail” is the large first dorsal fin,
brown trout will sometimes try to catch fast-flying, Atlantic sailfish which can run almost the entire length of the body.
agile prey such as damselflies. The sail is usually kept down and to the side but
Sailfish feed on very fast-moving fishes erected when the fish is threatened or excited.
such as mackerel and tuna, striking down
or sideways at prey from behind using their Istiophorus albicans
long bill. Groups of sailfish can use their a Up to 93⁄4 ft (3 m).
sails to herd schools of fish. One of them f Caribbean Sea, extending across Atlantic Ocean
then scythes through the school, thrashing to West Africa.
its bill from side to side to cripple and kill c Smoothly tapering blue body, with blackish blue fins.
the fishes, which are eaten head first. Elongated upper jaw forms a pointed bill.

Unfolding tongue

Perez’s frog

These frogs never venture very far from permanent bodies of
water and typically sit at the water’s edge on muddy banks or
rocks to sunbathe and feed. The males have a pair of vocal sacs
and call to attract mates. They can be active by day and night,
and their diet consists primarily of insects, spiders, and other
small invertebrates, which they catch using their sticky extendable
tongues. When not in use, the tongue is folded backward toward
the throat. A row of very small teeth in the upper jaw,
as well as some small teeth in the roof of the mouth, hold prey
in place before it is swallowed. The frogs in turn are eaten by
owls and several species of aquatic birds. They are always ready
to dive into the water and hide at the slightest sign of danger.

ANATOMY

SWALLOWING WITH THE EYES

Frogs’ large, bulging normal position

eyes have an extra job of eyes

besides watching prey.

When a frog swallows frog has prey
its prey, the eye in mouth

muscles contract,

LONG REACH pulling the eyes shut head is
The tongue of the Perez’s frog has a and moving them extended
sticky upper surface, and is attached down through small
toward the front of the mouth rather openings in the skull. forward
than at the rear. This, together with The eyes take up a
their ability to jump, gives the frogs a initial eye
longer reach for capturing prey. retraction

Pelophylax perezi space near the back of eyes are fully
a Up to 4 in (10 cm).
f Rivers and ponds in France and the the mouth and this retracted
Iberian Peninsula.
c Greenish, brown, or gray with mottled action helps push the prey is pushed
pattern with long pale dorsal stripe. food down.
toward stomach

HUNTING AND FEEDING 220 AIDING DIGESTION Lethal bite ANATOMY
The komodo dragon’s powerful legs
and strong claws hold down prey as Komodo dragon DEADLY SALIVA

they tear off large chunks of flesh. Although Komodo dragons also eat carrion, The mouth and teeth of Komodo dragons
To accelerate its digestive they will ambush other reptiles and small are home to more than 50 species of
process a lizard will then mammals, as well as goats and deer, pathogenic bacteria. Animals that are bitten
bask in the sun. usually administering a lethal bite (see and manage to escape will usually die from
panel, right). Swallowing can be a slow the effects of blood poisoning. This may
process, and so that the lizards do not work to the lizard’s advantage since it is
asphyxiate while eating, a breathing tube able to detect the smell of a dead animal up
under their tongue connects to the lungs. to 6 miles (10 km) away. The bite of other
A loosely hinged lower jaw and an elastic monitor lizards is also slightly venomous,
stomach deal with meals that may be up causing swelling and pain for many hours.
to 75 percent of their own bodyweight.

Varanus komodoensis
a 6½–9¾ ft (2–3 m)
b Grassland and lowland forest on the Indonesian
islands of Komondo and Flores and others in between.
c Heavy bodied, grayish brown with darker markings,
very long tail and long yellow forked tongue.
d 373

River ambush swift, using their powerful body and tail to meat, crocodiles spin themselves around 19ft The length
propel themselves forward at bursts of up in the water to tear meat from the carcass
Nile crocodile to 18 mph (30 kph). Adults usually eat —although this is known as the death roll, of some Nile
fish, but will lie in wait for animals to the prey is usually dead already. Nile crocodiles, the
Young Nile crocodiles eat insects and come down to the water’s edge to drink. crocodiles can go for long periods without largest freshwater
other invertebrates, and as they grow, Sometimes they gather in numbers at river eating but when food is available they can crocodiles
will take larger prey such as reptiles, crossings where groups of migrating consume up to half their own body weight
amphibians, and birds. Their ability to rest species such as at a single meal.
motionless in the water with just the eyes wildebeest have
and the tip of the nostrils showing allows to run a deadly Crocodylus niloticus
them to get very close to unwary prey gauntlet. Since a Up to 20 ft (6 m)
before they launch an attack. On land, they they cannot b Waterways throughout Africa and western Madagascar.
are rather slow moving, but can swing their use their c Large and squat, short splayed legs and long tail. Back
legs underneath the body for a faster gait. teeth to cut dark with tough scales, underside yellowish and softer.
In the water, they are incredibly through
d 401, 476

POWERFUL JAWS FEEDING FRENZY
With a huge gape and formidable A group of hungry Nile
bite, a Nile crocodile can hold onto crocodiles converge on a
large prey such as zebras,
buffaloes, or wildebeest and drags zebra victim before
them into the water to drown. ripping it apart.

Tongue lure READY TO STRIKE 221 PREDATION
Vivid green coloring
Alligator snapping turtle with blue, yellow, and
white flecks give superb
red tongue This turtle lies in the water with its hooked camouflage, while
resembles jaws held wide open. The inside of its enlarged front teeth
a worm mouth, like the rest of the head, is drably enable the snake to
colored and patterned to blend in with its grasp its prey securely.
background except for the tip of its tongue, large eye with
which is long and reddish. The turtle vertical pupil
wiggles its tongue around, imitating the
movement of a worm to lure fishes close temperature-
enough that it can snap its jaws shut on sensing pit
top of them. In addition to eating fishes,
snakes, amphibians, and even other Sensing blood
turtles, this species will also readily eat Green tree python
carrion if given the opportunity.
This snake is a nonvenomous constrictor
WELL CAMOUFLAGED that lives mainly in the tree canopy and
Even the outline of the turtle’s eyes is eats small mammals, such as rodents and
broken up by radiating lines, so the only bats, as well as reptiles and birds. It rests
conspicuous thing is its red tongue. curled in loops over horizontal branches
looking out from the middle of the draped
Macroclemys temminckii coils. Prey is usually caught by the snake enable it to detect the presence of warm-
holding onto a branch with the rear part of blooded prey. The pits detect radiant heat
a Up to 26 in (65 cm) its body while it strikes with its head. The and allow the snake to track and catch
b Lakes and rivers in southern North America. snake has special temperature-sensing prey even in total darkness. Once prey is
c Brown turtle with hooked jaws and shell with pits along the margins of the lower jaw that caught, the snake wraps several coils of
its body around it and tightens its grip
spiked plates. Morelia viridis every time its victim exhales, suffocating
a Up to 61⁄2 ft (2 m) it in the process.
Most toxic that the prey is limp and paralyzed almost b Rain forests in New Guinea, Queensland Australia,
the instant it is bitten. The inland taipan and some islands in Indonesia. 80°F
Inland taipan is the most toxic land snake in the world. c Bright green snake with a broken pale stripe along
The venom is many hundreds of times more the back. 76°F
Small mammals such as mice and rats toxic than that of a diamondback rattlesnake
form this snake’s prey, and it will also steal and 50 times more toxic than that of the 72°F
their burrows. It gives several bites in quick Indian cobra. A bite can prove fatal to a
succession, and the venom is so fast acting human unless antivenin is available. 68°F

BLACK HEAD IMAGING PREY IN INFAREDTEMPERATURE
Having a dark head allows the snake to warm Seen through a thermal imaging camera, a rodent
up rapidly up in the morning sunshine by stands out clearly from the cool background. Prey
simply poking its head out of its burrow. may seem just as obvious to the green tree python.

Oxyuranus microlepidotus
a Up to 61⁄2 ft (2 m)
b Arid scrub and grassland in central Australia.
c A glossy, grayish brown snake with irregular
dark markings.

Spawn hunting Death grip Boa constrictor imperator DEADLY COILS
a Up to 143⁄4 ft (4.5 m) Boa constrictors are
Northern cat-eyed snake Central American boa b Forest, savanna, cultivated areas, and nonvenomous and kill
mangrove swamps in Central and South America. by asphyxiating their prey,
Known as a cat-eyed snake because of its The general background color and squeezing them slowly to
slightly protruding golden-brown eyes with patterning of these solitary snakes serves c Stout-bodied snake with flattened head and death in their powerful coils.
catlike vertical pupils, this species will eat as good camouflage against the forest
adult tree frogs, toads, and lizards if it gets floor and among trees. Boa constrictors dark markings.
the chance, but prefers to eat frogspawn eat rodents, bats, and other mammals as
FROGSPAWN FEAST and young tadpoles. The viperlike head well as birds and lizards, and when fully
A northern cat-eyed has grooved fangs at the back of the grown can tackle capybaras,
snake, hunting in mouth, and the venom it injects is only monkeys, and even
forest foliage, gorges mildly toxic. Cat-eyed snakes hunt at dusk wild pigs. To help
itself on frogspawn, and after dark around ponds, forest pools, them locate prey,
its preferred food. It and streams where frogs are mating and there are some
frequents any lying laying eggs. Although they do hunt on the simple heat-
water where frogs and ground, in forested areas they will climb sensitive scales on
lizards lay their eggs. among the branches of trees to look for the head, and they
tree frogs. Attracted by the frogs’ nocturnal have a good sense of
mating calls, the snake silently slithers smell. When catching
among the foliage to feast on masses of bats, they hang from
their spawn. These snakes are not very trees or cave entrances
abundant; however, to compensate for where the bats roost and
this, mated female cat-eyed snakes can snatch them out of the air
store sperm for several years. as they fly past. The mouth
has curved teeth to hold the
Leptodeira septentrionalis prey as the body coils
a Up to 35 in (90 cm) around it. Once the prey has
b Lives in forested areas in the southern US, Mexico, been killed and swallowed
and Central America. whole, it may take several
weeks for the snake to digest
c Triangular head, dark bands on paler grayish brown, it completely.

narrow body.

TELESCOPIC TONGUE
The tongue of a panther
chameleon is extended by
a unique system that
catapults it toward prey at
speeds in excess of 16½ ft
(5 m) per second. The
sticky end wraps around
the prey, and the tongue is
retracted into the mouth.



224 Flexible jaws them to take even large eggs into their the liver and small intestine. When This large eagle
mouths whole, before the shell is broken threatened, the common egg-eater snake occupies the same
Common egg-eater snake by teethlike projections from the spinal can generate a loud hissing noise by ecological niche as
bones. The snake then swallows the liquid repeatedly coiling and uncoiling its body, the bald eagle in
These snakes live in forests and wooded contents and regurgitates the fragments of which rubs its lateral scales together. They North America.
areas populated by nesting birds. A good broken shell. Egg-eating snakes can fast will also strike out open-mouthed, even
sense of smell allows them to detect for long periods. When food is plentiful, though they have no teeth to attack with.
whether or not an egg is rotten before they they gorge themselves and their metabolic
try to eat it. A highly flexible neck enables rate increases, as does the diameter of Dasypeltis scabra
a Up to 3 ft 3 in (1 m)
b Forest and woodland in sub-Saharan Africa.
c Slender snake with grayish brown body and
rough scales.

SWALLOWED WHOLE
>>01 By dislocating its jaw, the snake begins
to consume an egg that is much larger than its
head. >>02 Once it has taken the egg into its
throat, the snake begins to close its mouth
around it. >>03 Muscular contractions press
bony projections of the spine on to the egg to
break it. The snake then swallows the contents.

Flightless forager Dive bombing

Stewart Island brown kiwi Peregrine falcon

This bird is a subspecies of the Tokoeka, Peregrine falcons have extremely acute
vision and power dive at high speed from
a New Zealand kiwi. Like other kiwis, the above their prey. Typically a peregrine will
come out of its dive just behind the prey,
Stewart Island brown kiwi is flightless and aiming to hit the wings of the victim rather
than risk injury with a direct body hit. If the
well adapted to terrestrial living and impact does not kill the bird, it will break
the bird’s neck with its sharp, hooked bill.
foraging. It has large, powerful legs with Its diet mainly comprises pigeons, doves,
waterfowl, and gamebirds, as well as
claws to scrape and dig, and, unusually reptiles and small mammals.

for a bird, foot pads that enable it to move Falco peregrinus
a Up to 211⁄2 in (55 cm)
around silently on the forest floor as it b Worldwide, but absent from New Zealand, high
mountains, deserts, and polar regions.
probes for food. Kiwis are the only birds c Bluish to dark gray, white face with dark stripe.

to have nostrils at the end of their bills,

and they use these to smell for prey

among vegetation and below the ground.

Because they are PROBING BILL Apteryx australis lawryi
so well adapted to After sunset the kiwi a Up to 151⁄2 in (40 cm)
living and hunting hunts for snails, spiders, b In forest and coastal scrub, only on Stewart Island off
on the ground, and insects. It uses its southern New Zealand.
kiwis have been keen sense of smell
described as and hearing to locate c Rounded, wingless bird, with long, slender bill and

honorary mammals. prey underground. light brown mottled plumage.

LOOKING FOR MOVEMENT Stamping for prey
A secretary bird stamps on the Secretary bird
ground with its large, stout-
toed feet to flush prey This large bird feeds on snakes such
out of hiding. as adders and even cobras, but will
also consume lizards, amphibians,
rodents, young birds, bird eggs, and Surface paddling Oceanites gracilis
insects. Small animals are eaten directly, a 6 in (15 cm)
but larger prey is stamped to death before White-vented storm-petrel b Waters off Chile and Peru, and around the
being consumed. Dangerous prey such as Galapagos Islands.
snakes are first stunned by being stamped Despite its small size, this bird is quite a c Mainly black with longish, slender dark legs. Nostrils
on, then killed by being pecked behind the fused into a single tube on top of the bill.
neck. Small creatures are eaten whole, strong flier, and feeds from the surface of
while larger prey are pinned to the ground
and pulled apart. the ocean, fluttering with rapid, almost

long, powerful legs batlike, wing beats above the surface of the
used for striking and
pursuing prey water. As it does this, it paddles its yellow

Sagittarius serpentarius webbed feet up and down on the water
a Up to 41⁄2 ft (1.4 m)
b Open grassland in sub-Saharan Africa. while it looks for planktonic organisms, such
c Light gray plumage and black flight feathers,
with black feathers at back of head, and long legs. as crustaceans and small fishes, to eat. The

white-vented storm petrel lives most of its

life over open water, only coming to land to

breed. It often nests FLUTTERING HUNTER
in hollows or lava The common name of
tubes but the this small bird refers to
presence of the patch of white
introduced rats has plumage at the base of
threatened its the tail, that extends

populations. round to the underside.

Snatching fish the water using its excellent eyesight sometimes take carrion, searching the SURFACE SWOOP 225 PREDATION
before swooping down to seize fishes shore for dead fish, or stealing prey from Swooping low over the water
White-tailed sea eagle swimming near the surface with its large, other predators such as otters and on its powerful broad wings,
hooked talons. The bottoms of its feet ospreys. In some areas, these eagles may a white-tailed sea eagle can
One of the most distinctive features of have sharp outgrowths to help keep a firm compete with golden eagles for rabbits pluck fish from the surface
birds of prey is the way they often kill with hold of the slippery prey. The eagle takes and hares. without getting itself wet.
their feet. The white-tailed sea eagle feeds food back to its nest or perch, where it
mostly on fishes, small mammals, and holds it down and rips it apart using its After a spectacular aerial courtship, long wing tips
other birds, such as ducks. When hunting large, vulturelike bill. Preferring open which involves the birds cartwheeling
for fishes, it sits in a good perch and scans coastal locations over inland sites, the through the air with their talons locked
territory of a white-tailed sea eagle may together, pairs of eagles bond for life and
Haliaeetus albicilla be more than 50 miles (80 km) across build a large nest, or eyrie, of twigs and
a Up to 35 in (90 cm) if prey is not very abundant. sticks in a tree or on a sheltered rocky cliff.
b Coastal areas, but also inland wetlands, rivers, and Females usually lay one or two eggs, and
lakes, in Europe and Asia. Each adult bird needs to consume the young are fed for three months. The
c Large eagle with brownish body, white tail, and around 18 oz (0.5 kg) of prey each day, but mortality rate is high with 60–70 percent
yellow, hooked bill. can survive short lean periods. Although of the young birds failing to
they are superb hunters, these eagles will survive their first winter.

Feet first Ospreys can close
their nostrils to
Osprey keep water out of
their nasal passages
Since their diet consists entirely of fishes, when diving.
ospreys are also known as fish eagles.
They have several special adaptations for CARRYING THE CATCH
catching fishes up to 4½ lb (2 kg) in weight. Sometimes ospreys have difficulty
Their toes are of equal length, and the
outer toe is reversible, allowing the bird to getting airborne from the water.
have two toes hooked into either side of a Once in flight they carry the fish
fish’s body. Not only do the feet have sharp headfirst to reduce wind resistance.
talons to hold slippery fishes, they also
have barbed foot pads to increase their Pandion haliaetus
grip. Their hunting technique consists of a 26 in (65 cm)
flying high above the water to spot fishes b Anywhere there is open water and plenty of fishes,
below, then, after hovering for a second or worldwide except Antarctica.
two, diving down to enter the water talons- c Brown upper body and wings, white underside.
first with outstretched legs. Ospreys will
enter water to a depth of more than 3 feet
(nearly a meter) to catch fishes.



Tail lure 227 PREDATION

Peringuey’s desert adder

This species, also known as the Namib desert sidewinding or
sand adder, hunts by burying itself in the sand with just its tail and
eyes—located on the top if its head—showing, making good use
of its excellent camouflage coloring. The end of the tail is exposed
and this, especially in very dark-tailed examples of the species, is
used as a lure. The prey—attracted by the movement and grublike
appearance of the tail—is grabbed and injected with venom. This
subdues the prey, which is then swallowed whole. Favorite prey of
this snake include desert lizards and geckoes. As an adaptation
to living on shifting desert dunes, and even to climbing steep
inclines, Peringuey’s desert adder moves by a process known as
sidewinding. The body is moved in a series of lateral movements,
leaving sinuous marks that are characteristic of the species.
Living in very dry conditions, such as the almost rain-free Namib
desert, the snake gets most of the water it needs to survive from
its prey, particularly lizards, which have a high water content.
However, it also draws a supply
of fluid from the condensation
that settles on its body.

Bitis peringueyi
a 10–12 in (25–30 cm)
f Coastal sands in Angola and Namibia.
c Body pale brown, orange, or sandy, with
gray-brown spots, and paler underside. Eyes
on top of flattened head. Tail typically brown.

KEEPING COOL
Peringuey’s desert
adder buries itself in
sand (far left and
above) to keep cool
and conserve moisture
as well as to conceal
itself from prey.

TAKING THE BAIT
A desert lizard has
fallen for the snake’s
appetizing-looking tail
lure and is in the
process of being
swallowed whole.

Snakes have rectangular
scales on the underside of
their body, the edges of which
provide traction like tread
on a tire.

ANATOMY

SIDEWINDER MOVEMENT

Sidewinding is a variation of the
more typical undulating motion
that snakes use to move around,
and is seen especially in species
that live on loose sand in deserts
or slippery mudflats where there
are no firm objects such as rocks
against which the snake can push.
By throwing its body into a series
of lateral loops, the snake moves
sideways with most of its body
clear of the surface at any time.
This allows it to move over very
hot sand, leaving behind a series
of J- or S-shaped tracks.

HUNTING AND FEEDING 228 Group hunting ENERGY MAINTENANCE energy For Harris’s hawk the benefits of
ENERGY maintenance group hunting are considerable. It
(kcal per hawk per day)Harris’s hawk150 threshold has been observed that by hunting
100 in groups each individual bird can
This hawk’s usual prey are small mammals 50 GROUP SIZE obtain a much larger amount of
such as ground squirrels and wood rats, food energy per day compared
birds, and reptiles, but by hunting together 0 to hunting alone or as one of a
in groups of up to six individuals, it is able pair. Groups of five or more were
to take prey as large as jackrabbits, hares, the scrubby terrain in which they live. able to maintain a sufficient
or large gamebirds. When prey is spotted, These social groupings are formed with energy level for survival.
the hawks land and scare the victim from a breeding alpha female and male,
RAPTOR PAIR its hiding place by force of numbers. One subordinate beta adults, and gamma Parabuteo unicinctus
Group members cooperate when catching and of the group then captures and kills it. A birds of either sex, usually juveniles. a Up to 30 in (75 cm)
sharing food and defending their breeding territory small number of a hunting group may also b Semi-desert, open woodland, and scrubland in
from predators such as ravens, great horned owls take turns to fly ahead to scan for prey. Central and South America, and southern North America.
and coyotes. Harris’s hawks are not fast fliers but Group hunting, which is very unusual c Brown plumage, reddish shoulders, white tail tip.
have excellent vision and hearing. among raptors, may be an adaptation to

Sensitive eyes able to scan large areas of habitat for their Mob rule able to hold more than 20 pints of water.
prey while they hover. By locating densely Fish are swallowed whole by the pelican
Common kestrel populated areas, they increase their Great white pelican holding its head upright. After squeezing
chance of success by concentrating their out the excess water, it lets the entire catch
The diet of common kestrels consists attentions where the chances of a kill are These large birds catch fish in their bill slip down its throat.
mainly of small mammals, such as voles highest. When prey is spotted, kestrels pouches while swimming on the surface of
and mice, but they will also catch small hover before quickly diving to the ground water. They often fish cooperatively in Pelecanus onocrotalus
birds. It might seem that the kestrel would to seize it with their talons. groups, attracted by large numbers of fish. a Up to 6 ft (1.8 m)
have a difficult task catching small, Several individuals or larger flocks of b Lakes and wetlands in southern Europe and Asia, Africa.
fast-moving prey but they have pelicans form a line or a semicircle and c White plumage, yellow legs and pouch, bluish bill.
evolved a special hunting ability. drive the fish into shallower water where
The eyes of kestrels are sensitive they can be collected easily. The pouch FEEDING FRENZY
to ultraviolet light, and they use below the lower jaw of the bird extends A group of great white pelicans have corraled a
the fact that rodent urine reflects back to the throat and is very elastic, being number of small fishes into shallow water and have
ultraviolet light to find their prey. begun to scoop them up, filling their pouches.
Voles, mice, and other rodents
habitually mark their trails with urine
and feces, so kestrels are

Falco tinnunculus eye sensitive to UV light
a 12–15 in (30–38 cm)
b Moorland, meadow, farmland, and urban areas in FIXED POSITION
Europe, Asia, and Africa. Often seen hovering above roadsides and farmland,
c Males are smaller and grayer than the reddish brown kestrels can maintain a fixed position, even in
females. Tail has dark bar accentuated by white tip. blustery conditions.

Plunge diving using their large webbed feet and wings Morus capensis
for propulsion. The sharp bill has fine, a Up to 3 ft 1 in (95 cm)
Cape gannet toothlike, backward-pointing serrations for b Coastal islands off southern Africa.
holding on to slippery fishes. After a dive, c White plumage with black tail and wing feathers.
These birds use a plunge-diving technique they then return to the surface using their Head and neck feathers are golden yellow, with
from as high as 98 ft (30 m) above the natural buoyancy, and typically swallow distinctive black stripe down the middle of throat.
surface to catch schooling fishes such as their prey before they take to the air d 271
sardines and anchovies. When suitable again. These foraging trips may
fishes are spotted, the gannets start a last many hours, with the birds 19ft The
dive from a height determined by the first feeding and then resting on
depth of the school. Just before they hit the surface to digest food distance below
the water, the gannets pull their wings for themselves, then catching the ocean surface
back and close to the body, to form a more fish and returning to their that Cape gannets
streamlined, arrowhead shape. Having nesting site to feed their chicks
entered the water, they can chase prey by regurgitation. may reach when
diving for fishes.

ON THE SARDINE RUN
Cape gannets are attracted to a

spectacular annual migration
event that takes place between
May and July off the east coast
of South Africa, in which schools

of sardines many miles
long pass through the waters.

BURIED PREY Probing mud Loaded bill 229 PREDATION
Oystercathers have a
strong bill for stabbing Eurasian oystercatcher Atlantic puffin
and probing into sand or
These distinctive waders hunt for shellfish such as cockles and Puffins dive into the sea from the
silt for shellfish. mussels, though not oysters, and will also feed on limpets, marine air or from the sea’s surface and
worms, and crabs. Each bird uses its own individual technique to can swim more than 200 ft (60 m)
open shellfish. Some birds hammer the shells rather than prying underwater using their wings for
them apart. Young birds tend to learn the technique their parents propulsion and their webbed feet
used. Oystercatchers feed gregariously except when breeding, as rudders. They catch small
when some move inland to rivers and lakes to find worms. fishes, especially sand eels, and
crustaceans and mollusks,
Haematopus ostralegus which they swallow unless they
a Up to 171⁄2 in (45 cm) are feeding young, in which case
b Estuaries, sandbanks and mudflats in Europe and Asia. they are taken back to the
c Stocky bird with black and white plumage, an orange burrow. Usually the fishes are
bill, red eyes, and pinkish legs. lined up in the puffin’s bill facing
alternately head, then tail, so that
ANATOMY more can be carried than if they
were all facing the same way.
DIFFERING FEEDING STRATEGIES
PROPERLY PACKED
The competitive exculsion principle states curlew godwit plover turnstone Puffins use their tongue to hold fishes
that no two species share the same feeding oystercatcher redshank against a small spine in the roof of
niche. Wading birds have different sizes and 0 their mouth. This means that they can
shapes of bills to deal with the great variety DEPTH (IN) 2 crab open their bills to add more fishes.
of animals living buried in sand and silt. 4 clam cockle snails
Long-billed species can reach deeply buried 6 Fratercula arctica
prey, such as lugworms, whereas shorter- 8 lugworm a 10 in (25 cm)
billed species can only penetrate to a depth b Coasts of Norway, northern Russia,
of an inch or two (a few centimeters). In this British Isles, Iceland, Brittany, Greenland,
way, several species can coexist, feeding in and from Labrador to the northeastern US.
the same area, since they do not compete c Stocky bird with large, parrotlike bill,
with each other for the same foodstuff. orangish legs, black and white plumage.
d 434

Parasol technique

Black heron

Sometimes called the black egret, the
black heron is also known as the umbrella
2 bird for its unique fishing technique,
variously called shading, mantling, or
canopy feeding. When hunting, the bird
stands in the water, flicks its wings open,
and holds them both in front of its body to
form an elegant parasol-like shelter over
the surface of the water. Small fishes are
then attracted to the shade cast by the
feathery shelter, since this is where they
might expect to find some protection from
predators. By creating shade, the bird also
greatly reduces the glare from the sun so
that it can bend its neck to see the fishes
in the water below more easily. Black
herons will often feed near spoonbills,
which stir up the mud with their long bills.
Disturbed fishes will then generally flee
to the nearest available shelter,
which might be provided by
a submerged log, or more
unfortunately for them,
a heron’s spread wings.
Black herons also stalk
aquatic insects and
amphibians, and follow
seasonal rains to find food.

CREATING A CANOPY
When the heron is using
its shading technique, the
front of its wings meet
and the tips of the wing
feathers dip into the
water all around the bird.

Egretta ardesiaca

a Up to 26 in (65 cm)
b Wetlands, lagoons, and lake margins

in sub-Saharan Africa and Madagascar.

c Long neck and legs, black or dark slate

gray plumage, and yellow feet.

HUNTING AND FEEDING 230 Stealth attack ANATOMY Sting extraction

Great gray owl DISH FACE European bee-eater

The great gray owl is a stealthy predator, The great gray owl’s large, concave These colorful birds eat large insects such
hunting in silence, mostly after dark. In open facial disk acts like a radar dish to focus as dragonflies, large flies, and butterflies,
areas such as forest clearings, it generally the sounds of moving prey onto its but are best known for eating stinging
adopts a sit-and-wait strategy, listening for asymmetrically placed ears. It has very insects such as bees, wasps, and hornets,
the movement of prey from a perch, but it acute hearing and can even detect small which they catch in midair. Several bee-
also flies close to the ground in search of mammals moving through tunnels under eaters perch together where prey is
food. Small mammals form most of its diet more than 12 in (30 cm) of snow. The plentiful and keep watch. When an insect
with voles being the most important food owl will then crash through the snow is spotted, they fly to intercept it and return
in many regions. Other prey includes mice, layer to seize the prey in its talons. to the perch. If the prey is a bee or wasp, a
squirrels, rabbits, moles, and weasels. Indigestible parts are later bee-eater strikes it against a hard surface
regurgitated as a dense, again and again to disable it or remove the
Strix nebulosa grayish black pellet. sting and also squeezes it in its bill to try
a Up to 33 in (85 cm) to empty the venom sac. After this, it eats
b Boreal forest and taiga in North America, Canada, the prey or feeds it to its young. In a single
northern Europe, and Asia. day, a bee-eater may consume more than
c Large facial disk with yellow eyes. Gray plumage. 200 bees.

Merops apiaster
a Up to 12 in (30 cm)
b Open countryside and near rivers in southern Europe,
north Africa, and parts of Asia.
c Slender, colorful bird. Dark eye stripe, yellowish
throat, brown upper, and bluish green underparts.

bill used to squeeze
out venom

STRIKING BIRD
The great gray owl is
an impressive bird with
long, broad wings and
distinctive markings. A
white “mustache” under
the facial disk is broken
by a black “bow-tie.”

SQUEEZING VENOM
The bee-eater hunts
for prey in open arid or
semiarid habitats and
catches insects in mid-
air before returning
to a perch.

Mid-air capture Butcher bird excess of food, the birds store their victims
by impaling them on plant thorns for a
Spotted flycatcher Red-backed shrike short period of time. These “larders” are
typically located in bushes or trees, but
Perching in a characteristically upright and Red-backed shrikes, like flycatchers (see sometimes the birds use artificial structures
alert manner, the spotted flycatcher keeps left), choose prominent perches, including such as barbed wire. Prey includes
a lookout for insects that fly past. From its man-made objects such as posts and insects, reptiles, and small mammals such
vantage point, it flies on short hunting telephone wires, that give them a good as shrews. Smaller items are eaten whole,
sorties, returning to the same spot to eat view of the surrounding habitat. They then but larger prey are impaled or wedged
what it has caught. This species feeds on wait for passing prey, which can be caught securely before being pulled apart by
a very wide range of insect prey in addition in flight or on the ground. When there is an the shrike’s stout, hook-tipped bill.
to flies, including beetles, bugs, moths,
butterflies, and even dragonflies. Lanius collurio
a Up to 7 in (18 cm)
CAUGHT IN b Heathland and scrub in Europe and western Asia.
MID-FLIGHT c Males have gray head with broad, black stripe or
The bright coloration mask, reddish back. Females duller and a little smaller.
of this butterfly
might advertise its BUTCHER’S HOOKS
distastefulness to Impaling their victims
another predator, allows red-backed
but it has not saved shrikes to feed on larger
it from a spotted prey, such as mammals
flycatcher. or lizards, over time.

Muscicapa striata
a Up to 51⁄2 in (14 cm)
b Deciduous woodland and hedgerows in Europe
and Asia.

c Gray-brown with longish wings and tail, creamy

breast with faint streaks, streaked head, and black legs.

231 PREDATION

>>01 >>02 >>03 >>04

PLUNGE-DIVING FOR PREY
>>01 With pinpoint accuracy and lightning
speed, a common kingfisher dives toward its
prey. >>02 Just before it hits the water it
spreads its tail feathers and opens its wings
to slow down. >>03 The bird opens its
bill slightly as it enters the water, and its
momentum carries it just far enough to catch
the fish. >>04 The kingfisher lifts its catch
clear of the water before returning to its perch.

Lightning strike

Common kingfisher

Also known as the Eurasian kingfisher, this

species feeds entirely on aquatic animals.

Individual birds have a number of perches

along a riverbank. From these vantage

points, which may be up to 21⁄2 ft (2 m)

above the surface, the bird will look for

movements in the water below. When it

spots prey, it either dives into the water or

hovers momentarily, with its bill pointing

downward, as it gathers a final accurate fix

on its victim. The problem of refraction (the

change in the direction of light as it travels

from water to air) is minimized by the bird’s

sharp eyesight and vertical dive. As it

enters the water, the kingfisher’s bill

opens slightly; its eyes are protected from

damage by a membrane. As it makes

contact with the prey, the bird shuts its

bill around it. Once at the surface,

insects, crustaceans, and small fishes are

swallowed immediately, but large fishes

are beaten against the kingfisher’s perch

SWIFT CATCH before being
Having caught a fish by swallowed head
the middle of its body, first. It is important
a kingfisher begins its that large fishes
return to the surface, are killed before
carried partly by its being swallowed
natural buoyancy and to avoid the bird

partly propelled by being damaged

wing action. internally by moving

fins or scales.

Alcedo atthis
a Up to 7 in (18 cm)
b Near clear ponds, lakes, streams, and rivers in
Europe, Africa, and Asia.
c Bright metallic blue above and brownish below. Short
wings, short tail, and long, pointed beak.

Kingfishers’ eyes
have filters that
reduce glare and
reflection from the
water’s surface.

A PENGUIN’S LAST MOMENTS
This fleeting glimpse of a leopard seal’s head may
be the last thing a penguin sees, although in many
cases the bird will never know what hit it. By being
such fast, agile swimmers, leopard seals can take
their prey totally by surprise.

Underwater ambush 233 PREDATION

Leopard seal

Leopard seals are keystone predators in the Antarctic marine

ecosystem. This means that their presence is essential to the

stability of the food chain. They fill the same ecological niche that

polar bears occupy in the Arctic, and orcas are their only natural

predators. Leopard seals are cumbersome on land and, as a

result, hunt only in the water, feeding on a wide variety of prey.

When young, the seals eat krill, squid, and fishes, but when they

become adult they tackle larger prey, such as penguins, and

smaller seals, such as crabeater seals and fur seals. These very

agile hunters have excellent eyesight and a good sense of smell.

In summer, they hunt around pack ice, keeping close to the

shoreline. They lie in wait, partially submerged, to look out for

penguins on the ice floes and ambush them when they dive into

the water. Their dark back and pale underside makes them hard

to detect from above or below, and since they can swim faster

than the fastest penguin they do not need to dive deeply to find

prey. Their powerful hind flippers are used in a side-to-side

motion to propel them, and their long front flippers allow them to

change direction very quickly.

In a typical ambush attack, Hydrurga leptonyx

a leopard seal seizes a a 93⁄4–111⁄2 ft (3–3.5 m)
penguin by its hind legs
from behind and thrashes f Ocean water in Antarctica.
it around until it dies.
Seabirds resting on the c Large seal with streamlined and

muscular body. Silvery dark-gray back,
pale underside, pale throat with dark spots.

surface are not safe either,

since leopard seals

sometimes take them too.

TORN APART
The leopard seal’s torpedo-shaped
body enables it to propel itself
through the water at great speed
and surprise its prey. Once it has
caught a penguin in its jaws, the
seal shakes it vigorously to tear off
chunks of flesh.

ANATOMY

RIPPING AND SIEVING

The leopard seal has pointed front teeth and long canines that curve
backward, features that are well adapted for holding firmly onto prey.
The molars, which are also sharp, can mesh together, allowing them
to act as sieves to strain krill from the seawater. Unlike its terrestrial
namesake, the leopard seal does not have carnassial teeth—that is,
the teeth do not fit very closely against each other in a way that could
slice and cut cleanly through meat. Instead, to break up its prey into
manageable pieces, a leopard seal thrashes its victim around violently
in the water and beats it against the surface of the water.

HUGE JAW sharply pointed
The skull of a front teeth
leopard seal is
long and almost eye socket
reptilian in shape.
The loosely hinged
lower jaw, which
can open very wide,
is powered by
muscles attached
over a large area
of the skull.

hunting and feeding 234 swift swimmer electric bill relies on its sensory snout to locate prey
The platypus is an agile by sensing both the disturbance in the
water predator. It uses Duck-billed platypus water and tiny electrical signals released
its strong, webbed front by shrimp and other prey (see panel, left).
feet for propulsion and Also known simply as the platypus, this The platypus is the only mammal that
semiaquatic mammal is more at home locates prey in this way. Once caught, food
its semiwebbed back in water than on land and has various is stored in pouches behind the broad, flat
feet for steering. adaptations to be an efficient aquatic bill and eaten when the platypus returns to
hunter. The platypus feeds mainly in the the surface. The egg-laying platypus is the
evening and after dark, diving under the survivor of an ancient group of mammals
surface to catch crayfish and other and has several primitive features, of which
crustaceans as well and worms and insect the most obvious is the reptilian way it
larvae. When hunting, it shuts its eyes and walks with its legs at the sides of its body.

fully webbed Ornithorhynchus anatinus
front feet a 16–20 in (40–50 cm)
b Streams and rivers in eastern Australia
ANATOMY and Tasmania.
c Broad flat tail, brown fur on body, duck-billed
sensitive snout snout, and webbed feet.

The snout of the platypus has special electrosensitive waterproof fur makes
receptors as well as touch receptors. As it hunts, it platypus buoyant
sweeps its head from side to side and is able to determine
the distance and direction of prey by a combination of the nostrills on
changes in the perceived electric field created by the sensors top of snout
on its bill and mechanical pressure waves.
distribution of
sensing its prey receptors on bill
As the platypus’s bill picks up electric creates lobed
signals from the water around it, its electric “field”
brain creates a map of the area that
it uses to locate its prey.

sharp claws underground detection Golden moles are
actually more
Giant anteater Grant’s golden mole closely related to
aardvarks, hyraxes,
Giant anteaters are specialist predators of Although completely blind, Grant’s golden and elephants than
termites and ants and may consume tens moles have extremely sensitive hearing the European mole.
of thousands of these small but nutritious and can detect the slightest vibration in
insects every day. They are solitary the sand. This ability to detect tiny seismic Eremitalpa granti
animals, and although their eyesight and waves allows them to locate burrowing a Up to 31⁄2 in (9 cm)
hearing are not well developed they have beetles, ants, grasshoppers, and spiders. b Coastal dunes and desert in southern Africa.
a superb sense of smell. The feet have five c Dumpy, slightly flattened body with yellowish gray,
digits, but the middle three digits on the Well adapted to digging, Grant’s golden soft fur with silvery gray sheen.
front legs are equipped with huge, curved mole has a small leathery nose and stout,
claws for breaking open termite nests. This strong shoulders and front legs. In
strength is necessary because the nests, addition, the front claws are curved and
which are made of soil mixed with termite concave and used as tiny shovels when
saliva, are baked in the sun and become digging, while the hind feet are webbed for
extremely hard. scooping and shifting soil backward.

Having long, curved claws requires the
anteater to walk on its knuckles. In addition
to breaking open termite nests, it also
searches for insects under tree bark. It
uses its long tongue to scoop out the
insects, and although it has no teeth it
crushes the prey against padlike growths
inside its mouth before swallowing.
Typically, an anteater will eat as many
worker ants or termites as it can before
the bites or stings of the soldiers become
too irritating and it has to move on.

probing for termites sand burrower
The anteater’s skull lacks teeth but accommodates A Grant’s golden mole has made a conspicuous ridge by
an extraordinarily long tongue to probe deep inside burrowing just under the surface of the sand. At night it may
ant or termite colonies. Coated in sticky saliva to trap forage for food on the surface but during the hottest part of
insects, it can be flicked in and out twice a second. the day it will burrow up to 20 in (50 cm) down.

Myrmecophaga tridactyla
a Up to 61⁄2 ft (2 m)
b Savanna and forest in Central and South America.
c Grayish brown coat with black and white diagonal
markings on shoulders. Long snout and tail, clawed feet.

out of reach to scramble down backward, turning to 235 predation
jump as they reach the ground. Leopards
Leopard stalk their prey stealthily and have excellent
hearing and eyesight, allowing them to
After a successful kill, leopards usually hunt after dark as well as during the day.
drag their prey up a tree and find a safe
horizontal branch in which to rest. From Leopards’ prey includes impalas,
here the meal can more easily be defended antelopes, duikers, and bushbucks, but
from other predators and scavengers such they will also tackle species as big as
as hyenas. However, although they are elands. They also eat monkeys, rodents,
good climbers, leopards cannot descend birds, fishes, and reptiles. Once caught,
from tree branches head first, so they have the leopard’s victim is quickly despatched
with an asphyxiating bite to the throat.
consumed at leisure
Using their great strength and powerful neck Panthera pardus
muscles, leopards can drag prey up to nearly
three times their own weight up trees. a Up to 6¼ ft (1.9 m)

b Savanna in sub-Saharan Africa and parts of south Asia.

c Yellowish to cream fur with dark, rosette markings.

swift pursuit short and flat with the eyes positioned to closing in
give good binocular vision. The eyes also A perfectly timed swipe to the rear quarters will
Cheetah have an image stabilization system to keep bring this gazelle down. Before it can recover,
the prey in sharp focus when running. A the cheetah will bite its throat to finish it off.
The cheetah has many adaptations that black line down the face under each eye
allow it to reach speeds in excess of acts like an antiglare device. 60 The average time in seconds it
70 mph (113 kph) and accelerate from takes for the cheetah, the world’s
40 mph (0–64 kph) in just three strides. The cheetah’s nasal passages are large, fastest land animal, to close in on its prey.
Its spine is very flexible, and when the as are the lungs, and the body has a low
animal is galloping it is alternately flexed skeleton-to-muscle-mass ratio, with lighter shortish, relatively blunt claws are Acinonyx jubatus
and straightened, allowing the powerful bones and longer legs than other cats. nonretractable, giving it permanent grip a Up to 5 ft (1.5 m)
hind legs to achieve an even longer The long tail acts as a rudder and allows on the soil at high speeds much like spiked b Open grassland in East and southwest Africa.
effective stride. The cheetah’s face is the cheetah to achieve extremely tight running shoes. Closing in on prey such as c Lean cat with relatively small head and yellowish fur
turns when pursuing agile prey. Its a fleeing impala, a cheetah can put on an with small black spots.
extra burst of speed over a couple of d 414–15
hundred yards.

adaptable predator and sea urchins from time to time. In winter ANATOMY
blizzards, Arctic foxes dig dens in deep
Arctic fox snow and can survive in extremely cold seasonal coats
conditions of -58˚ F (-50˚ C), protected by
Arctic foxes hunt and eat animals such as their thick fur and, if the feeding has been The coat of the Arctic fox changes from its
lemmings and Arctic hares in the warmer good, a layer of body fat. A counter-current brownish gray in summer, to blend well with
months. In the winter, when prey is scarce, heat-exchange system in the legs ensures the color of rocks and low-growing plants,
not only will they attack young seals in their that blood returning to the body from the to pure white in winter, providing very
dens and find fishes, but they will also feet is warmed up. This means that, effective camouflage against the bright,
scavenge carrion left by larger predators although the feet must survive at a lower snowy background. In addition, the fur
such as polar bears. temperature than the rest of the body, heat grows much thicker in winter, to insulate
is not lost from the core of the body. the fox against the bitter cold of the Arctic
The key to the success of these hardy tundra. When resting, the fox covers its face
animals is that they are very adaptable and Alopex lagopus with its bushy tail.
can survive by eating birds’ eggs and even
plant material such as berries if they are a Up to 21½ in (55 cm) The Arctic fox has fur on the bottom
available. On the shoreline, they will feed of its feet to enable it to walk on ice.
on dead fishes or seals that have been b Arctic tundra in North America, Europe, and Asia.
washed ashore and may also eat shellfish
c Compact body with short legs and snout, bushy tail.

d 308–309

>>01 >>02 >>03 pouncing on prey
>>01 To locate prey hidden under the snow,
the Arctic fox listens intently for the sounds of
burrowing or movement. It rears up in the air
with its eyes focused on a spot on the snow
above its victim. >>02 At the peak of its
leap, the fox extends its front legs and rotates
its body forward. >>03 The fox plunges
head-first toward the ground and thrusts its
front paws through the snow into its victim’s
tunnel or lair beneath.

STEALTHY APPROACH
To catch fleet-footed
prey, lions stay very
low to the ground using
natural cover to get as
close to the target as
they can. In this way they
can start to run before
the prey has managed to
spot them. This technique
gives the lion the edge it
needs before the prey
can reach its top speed
and escape.

Family hunting ANATOMY 237 PREDATION

Lion POWERFUL JAWS AND TEETH

When it comes to hunting prey, lions are The lion’s skull and teeth are adapted for upper
adept at teamwork. Lionesses are lighter killing and eating sizeable animals such as incisor
and quicker than males and do the vast zebras, wildebeests, elands, and kudus. upper
majority of the hunting. Pride members The long, daggerlike canines and large carnassial
hunt cooperatively and by doing so can jaw muscles ensure a strong grip and an
take much larger prey than they would be efficient killing bite, usually to the neck. upper canine
able to tackle on their own. Although males The pointed and sharp-edged premolars
may be large enough to attack buffaloes, and molars, called carnassial teeth, in the lower
single lions are seldom able to take on upper and lower jaws work together like the carnassial
really large species such as elephants or blades of shears, slicing through flesh. The
male giraffes. Cooperation brings easier lower jaw only moves up and down so lions lower canine
kills and carry less risk of injury, and also swallow chunks of flesh and do not chew.
that ensure that enough food will be lower incisor
available for every member of the pride.
by the pride may suckle from a number of working at low light levels, making night
Hunting techniques vary. Typically one of females as well as their own mother. hunting possible. They use their strong,
lioness will spook a prey animal or chase it, Adult males tend to live alone or in small sharp retractable claws for grasping and
at speeds of up to 40 mph (70 kph), toward groups called coalitions. When they take grounding prey, before killing it with
other members of the pride lying in wait. over a pride, the males, one of which will a neck-breaking bite or by asphyxiation.
Sometimes the pride will surround a herd be dominant, are responsible for marking Although lions are top predators, they also
of prey and try to pick off a lone, young, or the boundaries of the pride’s territory or scavenge from carcasses when the need
weak individual. Once the pride has made area, which may be anything from a arises and steal prey from hyenas.
a kill, cooperation ensures that it keeps few tens to a few hundreds of square
possession of its prize—a single lion miles, defending it against threats, and, Panthera leo
would have great difficulty against a pack of course, mating with the females.
of hyenas intent on taking over the kill. a 5½–7¼ ft (1.7–2.2 m)
Apart from their large size and f Parkland and open savanna in sub-Saharan Africa.
Cooperative hunting is made possible formidable teeth, lions have other attributes
because lions form close social groupings that make them efficient predators. They A few hundred Asiatic lions (subspecies Panthera leo
lasting many years. A pride of lions have excellent binocular vision, which persica) live in the Gir Forest in Gujarat, northwest India.
comprises a number of related adult allows them to judge distance very
females and their young. The young raised accurately, and their eyes are capable c Coat color varies from creamy tan to brown. End of

tail has dark tuft of hair. Males typically have thick mane
that may be dark in color.

d 413, 446

>>01 >>02 >>03 >>04

AMBUSH AT A WATER HOLE >>03 As the kudu stumbles under the weight, Adult male lions
>>01 After a short chase, a lioness has the lioness is able to maneuver herself up typically eat 95 lb
caught up with a fleeing greater kudu. toward the neck of the stricken beast, where (43 kg) of fresh
Sometimes lions will lash out with a front paw she opens her huge jaws to more than 10 in meat in a single
to trip the prey but usually use a burst of speed (25 cm) and delivers the fatal bite. >>04 The sitting. They usually
to jump at the hindquarters. >>02 The animal is dead within a few seconds, and soon gorge themselves
lioness leaps onto the kudu’s back, using her after the other members of the pride gather once every three or
sharp claws to dig into the hide. to share the meal. four days.

HUNTING SUCCESS MOON VISIBILITY GRASS HEIGHT NIGHT HUNTERS
50 Although lions will hunt at other times, they prefer
Research has shown that, apart from the % OF HUNTING SUCCESS40 the cover of darkness. Moonlight reflected by the
number of lions cooperating and the type of high and30 back of their eyes gives away the presence of a
prey, other factors can greatly affect hunting 20 large pride of lions waiting to start a foray.
success. The brightness of the moon has a clear10
marked effect, success being much higher on low or0
moonless nights, especially in open habitats. obscured
The moon has less of an effect when lions are short
hunting in wooded areas. Habitat features are medium
also important, with long grass cover bringing
significantly greater success than short grass. long

PACK HUNTING
An attack by a pack of African wild dogs reaches
a climax: surrounded by the snarling pack and
already injured, this lone warthog is going to need
a lot of luck if it is going to escape. The dogs have
to be careful since the warthog’s sharp tusks could
inflict a potentially lethal wound but, as always,
there is safety in numbers.



HUNTING AND FEEDING 240 Cooperative hunting lead dogs impala herd some impala escape

African wild dog pack of dogs flanking pursuers cut lead dogs chase
pack fans out off impala’s escape isolated impala
Like most members of the dog family, SCOURING THE SAVANNA
African wild dogs, or painted hunting A typical African wild dog hunt is an one dog maintains
dogs, live in groups tied together by intense endurance chase. While a whole impala herd direction and
social bonds. These bonds are an effective might be targeted, the eventual victim will be anticipates impala’s
advantage in the hunt, since the dogs the impala that falls behind, due to age or direction change
cooperate as a pack, running down and sickness. Evasive maneuvers are usually
overpowering their prey in a long-distance some dogs pursue useless, as sideways escape is prevented by lead dogs catch
chase. Strategically, their hunting is not on flanks the flanking dogs, and the impala’s erratic impala and others
cunning or stealthy. Relying on their flightpath can be predicted and headed off arrive at kill
excellent vision during the cool of early dogs surround it and usually target its soft by dogs bringing up the rear.
morning or late afternoon, they approach underbelly, disemboweling it. Hunts
prey such as wildebeests, impalas, or generally have a very high success rate with
zebras in full view. Surprise is unnecessary more than three out of four resulting in a kill.
since they have the stamina to chase their Hunting dogs have a very powerful bite and
prey until it is exhausted. The quarry is often their large molars and premolars allow them
able to gallop faster than the wild dogs’ top to crush bone. When they have eaten, food
speed of 37 mph (60 kph), but will is regurgitated to older dogs, pups, and
eventually be chased down over distances other members of the pack that did not take
of up to 31⁄2 miles (6 km). The hunting pack part in the hunt.
keeps in touch constantly with high-pitched,
yapping contact calls. During the chase, the Lycaon pictus
dogs spread out to head off any sideways a Up to 5 ft (1.5 m)
escape attempts. Zigzagging evasion b Savanna and lightly wooded parkland in
movements of the prey, which would sub-Saharan Africa.
confound a lone hunter such as a cheetah, c Slim bodied with long legs. Irregular patterning
are ineffective against a pack of wild dogs. of white, yellow, and dark fur. Large, rounded ears.
As the exhausted prey slows down, the

HUNTING GROUNDS THE FEAST
The home range of African wild dogs In Botswana’s Okavango Delta, a pack
varies with the size of the pack and the of hunting dogs have caught their favorite
availability of prey, but can often be more prey—an impala. They feast while vultures
than 620 square miles (1,000 square km). wait to scavenge whatever is left over.

THE KILL
Separated from its herd and exhausted
after a long chase, a red lechwe has been
seized from behind by two lead dogs.

Winged assault in a characteristically slow, fluttery fashion, 93⁄4–49 ft (3–15 m) 241 PREDATION

Western pipistrelle above the ground. The smallest bat species in the US, the western

This common species of bat starts to forage in the early evening, pipistrelle is sometimes mistaken for a large moth. Since it is a
well before dusk, and may also be seen flying after dawn. Using
echolocation (see panel, below) to source its prey, the western weak flier, it usually hunts in calm conditions. By day, it roosts
pipistrelle feeds on a wide range of soft-bodied insects such as
moths, flies, caddis flies, and small beetles. The exact nature of singly or in small groups in
its diet changes over the course of a year, and the bat will feed
on any species that is locally abundant or swarming nearby. It flies caves and crevices. Although it Pipistrellus hesperus

large, widely lives in arid habitats, roosting a Up to 23⁄4 in (7 cm)
spaced ears sites tend to be near any f Desert and scrubby grassland in
available water because this
North America and Mexico.

usually provides a good source c Pale yellow to brownish gray fur;
black facial mask.
of hatching aquatic insects.

THE HUNT
A western pipistrelle closes in on a
small moth. The bat can consume prey
equal to 20 percent of its body weight
in a single night.

sound emitted via
nose as well as mouth

ATTACK SEQUENCE 1SEARCH PHASE To conserve energy, calls are 2 APPROACH PHASE When prey is 3 TERMINAL PHASE Call
produced, in the form of a series of “notes,” at detected, the bat increases the rate rate may increase to 200
In addition to making calls for communication and other reasons, a rate of less than 20 per second. of calls to get a more accurate location. times per second.
bats emit ultrasound for hunting prey. This species produces its
echolocation calls in the frequency range 53–90 kHz, with the highest
energy being produced at around 62 kHz. Each frequency modulated
note has a duration of between 4 and 5 milliseconds.

Sound detection CASE STUDY FREQUENCY (KHZ) CRANE FLY
83
Greater horseshoe bat RECOGNIZING ECHOES
MAYBUG
This species of bat has a number of Bats emit a series of ultrasound squeaks, which are reflected 83
different hunting techniques and catches by prey in different ways according to the size, shape, texture,
medium- to large-sized insects such as and frequency of wing beats. From this a bat can determine
cockchafers, dung beetles, and large the location, speed, and nature of its prey. The echo a bat
moths. Sometimes they will perch and receives from a delicate crane fly, for instance, will sound
fly out in pursuit of passing insects, while very different to that of a large, hard-bodied maybug. The
at other times they will attack prey from motion pattern of flying insects provides a hunting bat with
above or glean insects from the surface additional information. As the insect’s wings move up and
of foliage. When hunting, the greater down, at one point they will be perpendicular to the direction
horseshoe bat flies low and slowly, using of the sound transmitted by the bat, causing a brief increase
an echolocation call with a constant in the level of the sound energy reflected, known as a “glint.”
frequency of 70–84 kHz. Leaving its
roost at sunset, it typically forages while FLYING PREY
flying over open pasture, farmland, and A greater horseshoe bat
in parkland—often next to water where makes a final turn toward
prey can be abundant. When large prey its prey, which it will seize
has been captured, it is taken back to in its jaws. From the reflected
a convenient perch to be consumed. sound waves received, the
Like some other bats, this species may bat already has a good idea
make use of doppler-detection calls. of what it is about to eat.
To do this, a bat must emit a long note
with a constant frequency. If the bat and
the prey are moving relative to each other
at the same distance, there will be no
change in the frequency of the perceived
echo. If the prey is flying toward the bat,
the frequency will appear to increase; but
if the prey is moving away from the bat,
the frequency of the reflected sound will
appear to drop. This is exactly the same
as when a vehicle with a loud siren passes
a stationary listener—the pitch of the
siren appears to increase as the vehicle
approaches and decrease as it passes.

Rhinolophus ferrumequinum

a Up to 3 in (7.5 cm)
f Open woodland, farmland, and parkland in Europe

and parts of Asia.

c Horseshoe-shaped flap of skin around the nose,

leaf-shaped, pointy ears, and light brown, fluffy fur,
with paler fur on belly.

NIGHT FISHING
The fishing bat uses ultrasonic calls to detect activity
on the surface of the water. It has long hind legs with
large talonlike claws that act as fishing gaffs. The
bat rakes its claws through the water to snatch fishes
from beneath the surface. Its catch is transferred to
its mouth, chewed, and stored in extendable cheek
pouches as it continues to hunt.



HUNTING AND FEEDING 244 Feeding on frogs Versatile predator

Frog-eating bat Orca

Also known as the fringe-lipped bat from The orca, or killer whale, is the largest
the numerous fleshy outgrowths on its dolphin species in the world. Intelligent and
lips and chin, this species is a specialist social animals, orcas often travel in large,
predator of frogs although it will also feed maternally based family groups called
on other small vertebrates and insects. pods and communicate with each other
The bat uses the mating calls of male with a range of whistling and clicking calls.
frogs to locate its prey, and is both able There are physical, behavioral, and genetic
to tell if a frog is too big to deal with and to differences between populations of orcas,
differentiate between edible and poisonous and it is not certain exactly how many
species. The bat’s ears are especially subspecies or even species there are. Five
sensitive to the relatively low frequencies of distinct orca types have been identified,
the frogs’ choruses, and some frogs keep some of which feed on a range of fishes,
quiet when frog-eating bats are foraging. sharks, cephalopods, and turtles, while
others attack seals, sea lions, and even
Trachops cirrhosus Rounding up FEEDING CIRCLE whales. Feeding behavior depends on the
These long-beaked dolphins have taken control type of orca and its prey. Orcas that follow
a Up to 4 in (10 cm) Long-beaked common of a fish school. While some of them dart in to migrating herring schools may feed singly
b Lowland forest in Central and South America. dolphin feed, others will keep circling. or work in a group to corral fishes into a
c Reddish brown fur and large ears. Chin and lips have tight ball, slapping it with their powerful tail
a dozen to many hundreds of individuals. flukes to stun or kill as many as they can.
pink, fleshy warts. The long-beaked species is similar in Orcas that hunt marine mammals may kill
appearance to the short-beaked common their prey by ramming it, hitting it with their
The main prey of these fast-swimming dolphin, and for a long time the two were tails, or tossing it into the air. When hunting
dolphins are fish and squids, and in considered to be one species. Besides
some parts of the world pods of long- having longer beaks, they are slightly
beaked common dolphins hunt schooling longer and more slender than the short-
fish cooperatively. Members of a pod beaked species.
swim around schooling fish, herding
them into a tight ball before individuals Delphinus capensis
take turns plowing through the fishes, a Up to 81⁄4 ft (2.5 m)
attacking and eating them as they go. b Coastal waters of the Atlantic, Pacific, and Indian
oceans.
Long-beaked common dolphins are c Back and flippers dark brownish or black; creamy
very social, communicating with each white underside with pale markings along sides.
other by sonar clicks and traveling in
pods numbering anything from less than

The jaws of a long-beaked common
dolphin can have more than 200 teeth
for gripping slippery fishes and squids.

SURE GRIP
Although the Amazon river
dolphin swims quite slowly,
its neck is also extremely
flexible, allowing it to turn its
head at almost right angles
to its body as it looks for food.
It has no dorsal fin, but has
large flippers and tail flukes,
which are an adaptation for
swimming in shallow water
or flooded forest.

River hunter

Amazon river dolphin

The largest of the freshwater dolphins, the
Amazon river dolphin, or boto, has a number
of adaptations for finding food in murky,
slow-moving waters. Although it has good
eyesight and hearing, it is able to echolocate
prey and has a number of stiff, sensory
hairs along the front of its beak that help it
feel among the sediment on the bottom of
the river. The beak has peglike teeth at the
front to seize prey, such as crustaceans
and fishes and flatter, molar teeth farther
back to crush and grind the food.

Inia geoffrensis
a Up to 8½ ft (2.6 m)
b Slow-moving waters in the Amazon and Orinoco river
basins of South America.

c Pink or gray dolphin with long snout but no dorsal fin.
d 365

whales, members of a pod usually select a ACROBATICS CASE STUDY 245 PREDATION
calf or a weak adult. By chasing and tiring Orcas are able to
it out, they separate it from the rest of the reach speeds of 35 mph WAVE HUNTING
group and drown it by not allowing it to (56 kph). When traveling
resurface for air. In shallow water, orcas quickly, they jump out of Orcas have a unique cooperative seal
may almost beach themselves to feed on the water. This behavior
seals, elephant seals, and sea lions. is known as porpoising. hunting technique for capturing seals juvenille
resting on small ice floes. “Wave- spy-hopper
hunting” begins with a number of orcas
looking for likely targets by holding three orcas
swimming
their heads out of the water, a behavior together to
create wave
known as spy-hopping. Several orcas spy-hopper
will then swim together toward and wave washes
under the floe to create a large wave over iceberg
to wash over the ice and carry the seal seal washed toward
into the water. To ensure that the seal waiting orca

is dislodged, some orcas may spy-hopper
deliberately nudge the floe from the nudger
side. At the other side of the floe,
another orca waits to eat the seal
when it is finally knocked off. While

wave-hunting, adult orcas can be

Orcinus orca accompanied by juvenile individuals, eater
which learn how to perform this
a Up to 8m (26ft) technique by example. When fully
b Coastal and offshore waters in oceans worldwide trained, the juveniles will take part

from polar regions to the tropics. in the hunt themselves. This complex

c Black bodies with white undersides, flanks, and a behavior relies upon communication
and coordination to be effective.
white patch behind the eye. Males have a large triangular
dorsal fin, while female’s is shorter and more curved.

SPY-HOPPING having created
A spy-hopping orca has spotted a lone wave, orcas
seal on an ice floe and others may join pass under
it to try to knock it into the sea. ice floe

BEACH ATTACK
This orca has almost beached itself by
rushing into the shallows to catch seals.
Mother orcas teach their young how to
carry out this risky maneuver.

CORRALING A SCHOOL
Here a fish-eating orca is corraling a school of fish.
It flashes its white underside at them then slaps
the fish ball with its tail flukes.

HUNTING AND FEEDING 246

PERCENTAGE OF ANIMALS OBSERVED
Bubble-netting THROAT PLEATS CASE STUDY
Deep throat pleats, running from the front of the
Humpback whale head to halfway down the underside of the body, LEARNING TO LOBTAIL-FEED
allow humpback whales to accommodate large
Humpback whales strain food from surface water using up to volumes of water containing food. Humpback whales may produce variations of existing feeding
400 bristly baleen plates located on either side of the mouth. techniques, which are then learned by other whales. In one such case,
When the mouth is closed, water is squeezed out through the an Atlantic population of humpbacks initiated the bubble net technique
baleen plates, trapping food. Different humpback whale using a lobtailing behavior in which one whale slaps the surface of the
populations have different feeding habits. North Atlantic pods water with its tail. This tail slap may act as a marker for the whales as
feed mainly on fishes, such as herring, sand lance, salmon, they rise from below or may temporarily stun the prey.
and mackerel, but those in southern oceans also feed on krill.
Humpback whales use a number of feeding techniques, ranging 60 LEARNING
from hitting fishes with the pectoral fins or tail flukes, to swimming In less than a
through schools, swallowing fish as they go. A more complicated
approach, called the ring of foam technique, involves the whale 50 decade, lobtailing
slapping the surface of the water with its tail as it swims in a circle
around a school of fish. The whale then dives down and swims up spread and was
through the ring of foam, swallowing fish that have gathered in the
center. A vertical extension of this technique, and the most 40 practiced by
impressive feeding method practiced by humpback whales,
is known as bubble-netting. Here a single whale, or several 30 more than half
acting cooperatively, dive down and then swim up toward the Atlantic
the surface while exhaling continuously. The rising air forms
a curtain, or if the whales swim in a wide circle, a 20 humpback whale
complete cylinder of bubbles, inside which the fishes
become trapped. The whales then swim up through population.
the concentrated school, swallowing thousands of fishes.
Besides confusing and herding the fishes, bubble-netting 10
may also make the whales less visible to their prey.
KEY

0 observations
1980 1982 1984 1986 1988 1990

YEAR best model

whale lobtailing fish in a ball Megaptera novaeangliae

whale then dives down waiting a 49–66 ft (5–20 m), females larger than males
whale b Oceans and seas worldwide. Whales migrate
waiting whale
thousands of miles, from summer feeding grounds in
RISING BUBBLES polar waters, to equatorial waters in winter to breed.
Bubble nets are formed
when a whale swims cBlue-black back with paler underside. Head and lower
in a set pattern
underwater while jaw covered with knobs called tubercles. Long white
slowly exhaling. When pectoral fins, and broad, wavy-edged tail flukes.
cooperating with
other whales, there first whale creating NET SHAPES
is a division of labor. bubble-net The shape of the nets, which may
Some whales make the take the form of sheets, semicircles
bubbles, others herd or cylinders, are revealed when the
the fishes from below. bubbles break the surface.

path taken by whale WHALE GROUP
bubble-net beginning A group of humpback whales has
surfaced inside a ring of bubbles to
whale swims up swallow trapped fishes. Bubble nets
in a helix pattern created by groups of whales may
have diameters of up to 98 ft (30 m).

RESISTANT TEETH Probing bark 247 PREDATION
In addition to catching
prey in water, the Aye-aye
Eurasian water shrew
also hunts on land for The aye-aye sleeps during the day and
earthworms and beetle forages in the forest canopy at night.
grubs. It has red-tipped Although it eats nuts, fruits, seeds, and
teeth due to the presence fungi, it is best known for finding insect
of metallic deposits in grubs buried deep in wood. Aye-ayes have
the enamel, which are excellent hearing and tap on the surface of
thought to increase their wood to locate hollow cavities beneath
resistance to wear. bark. They then chew a hole in the wood
using their long incisor teeth before using
Venomous bite traps air, giving them a silvery appearance. Daubentonia madagascariensis their bony, elongated, double-jointed,
Unlike other shrews, the Eurasian water a Up to 16 in (40 cm) middle fingers to pry insect larvae from
Eurasian water shrew shrew has a mildly toxic saliva, which may b Rain forest in Madagascar, seasonally dry inside. They also use their middle fingers to
aid prey capture. They are solitary animals forest, and cultivated plantation. tear at fruits, extracting the nutritious pulp.
Eurasian water shrews rest in burrows and hold territories, marked out with the c Dark brown, gray, or black fur with scattered
during the day, emerging at night to secretions of scent glands. white hairs. Short snout, and large hairless ears. LARVAE SEEKER
feed on aquatic invertebrates, such as These elusive primates
freshwater shrimp, caddis flies, and the Neomys fodiens are the ecological
larvae of other insects, although they may a Up to 4 in (10 cm) equivalent of a
also feed on small newts, frogs, and fish. b Europe and parts of Asia: semiaquatic, living on woodpecker. Larvae
Because they have a high metabolic rate, banks of streams and rivers, ponds, and marshland, of woodboring insects,
they need to consume about half their own but also in woodland, grassland, scrub, and hedgerows. such as the longhorn
body weight every day in order to survive. beetle, make up an
When diving underwater, their thick, oily fur c Dense, black, velvety fur above and whitish important component
of their diet.
yellow fur below. Head with long snout and small eyes
and ears.

Sensitive nose COOPERATIVE HUNTING Blocker Ambusher
In parts of Africa where there is continuous To prevent An ambusher seizes the
Star-nosed mole canopy cover, chimpanzees must cooperate the monkey from monkey, before biting
to catch prey such as the western red colobus escaping, blocker and beating it to death.
This mole’s most distinguishing monkey. Communication and coordination chimpanzees track it.
characteristic is a circle of 22 pink, fleshy between members of the group are essential.
tentacles at the end of a hairless snout. Blocker
These tentacles are in constant rapid Chaser
motion and are covered with thousands To keep the prey moving Chaser
of sensory receptors. They are used to
identify food solely by touch, and a large forward in the desired
portion of the mole’s brain deals with direction, it is chased
processing this detailed tactile information. from behind by several
The star organ is vertically symmetrical
with 11 tentacles varying from 1⁄16–3⁄16 in chimpanzees.
(1–4 mm) in length on each side. On
contact, the lower tentacles, which are the Colobus monkey
shortest and most sensitive, assess the Because of the thick
nature of the food. The diet consists mainly canopy cover, there is
of invertebrates, such as earthworms, nowhere the monkey
encountered when tunneling, but also
freshwater leeches, the larvae of aquatic can climb where it
insects, crustaceans, snails, and small cannot be followed.
fishes encountered while swimming.
Driver
Condylura cristata When all the members
a 7–71⁄2 in (18–19 cm) of the hunting party are in
b Eastern North America, in a wide variety of habitats place, the driver chimpanzee
with wet soil, including forest, meadow, marshland, and surprises the prey and the
the margins of streams, lakes, and ponds.
chase begins.
c Stocky, cylindrical body with dense, blackish brown,
Planned assault
waterproof fur, large clawed front feet, and a thick tail.

SENSORY COMPENSATION Chimpanzee but opposable, permitting a precision grip SUCCESSFUL HUNTING
Although the star-nosed mole is virtually blind, only and delicate manipulation of food and A successful hunt means that there is enough meat
able to differentiate light and dark, the incredibly Chimpanzees are largely omnivorous, other objects. The chimpanzee is the only to go around. Males tend to eat more meat than
sensitive nasal organ allows it to detect, identify, their diet consisting mainly of fruits, leaves, animal, except for humans, to make tools females, who usually get their protein from insects.
and consume small prey in a fraction of a second. nuts, and roots, as well as insects and specifically for hunting. They have been
bird eggs. They may also hunt larger seen breaking branches from trees, which
vertebrates, such as bush pigs and they strip of bark and sharpen to spear
colobus monkeys, usually targeting young bushbabies as they sleep. Sticks are also
individuals. These hunts require advance used as hammers, thrown as weapons,
planning, learning from observation of or used to probe termite and ant colonies.
others, and trial and error. Cannibalism
between chimpanzee groups is known to Pan troglodytes
take place. Chimpanzees are intelligent, a Up to 51⁄4 ft (1.6 m) tall (standing height)
highly social primates. They move on the b Tropical forests and wet savanna in west and central
ground using a form of quadrupedal Africa.
locomotion called knuckle walking, while
their long front limbs and strong hands c Coarse, dark brown, or blackish body hair. The face,
also allow them to swing from branches in
the forest canopy. Their thumbs are short digits, palms, and soles of the feet are hairless. The face
is dark or mottled with a prominent brow ridge.